According to an announcement to journalists in Lagos, the Area Controller of the Murtala Muhammed Area Command (MMAC) of the Nigeria Customs Service, Michael Awe, disclosed that the agency had surpassed its revenue target by recording an impressive N80.3 billion in the first six months of the year.
This remarkable revenue collection represents a significant improvement over the N38.7 billion collected during the same period in 2023.
He said the additional difference of N41.6 billion represents a 107.5 percent increase over the revenue generated in the same period last year.Mr. Awe attributed the increase in revenue to the support of the comptroller-general of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, and the entire corps.He said the difference in revenue collection was made possible by the tenacity of the agency in ensuring that agents made proper declarations and strictly adhered to import and export guidelines in accordance with existing laws.
On the issue of anti-smuggling, Mr Awe said officials enforcing the government’s tax and other trade regulations do not intend to rest on their laurels.”The Command seized the following; Five packets of 250 mg Tramadol, 12 packets of 225 mg Tramadol, and one packet containing 50 rounds of 9mm live ammunition.”Other seized items included 46 bags of dried sea cucumber, three bags of dried male donkey genitalia, and 55 Joseph semi-automatic tomahawk rifles.
“The cumulative duty paid value (DPV) of the said items was N6.06 billion.”The items were mainly seized due to various types of violations ranging from false labeling, non-compliance with import and export guidelines to non-compliance with other existing provisions as enshrined in the Nigerian Customs Service Act, 2023 (NCS Act),” he said.
The MMIA Customs Commissioner said the command recorded exports of goods worth 266.6 million naira with an FOB value of US$204.59 during the period under review.Mr. Awe commended the efforts of the officers in the fight against smugglers and urged them to strictly adhere to the rules of engagement in discharging their statutory duties.
