The revenue generated from imports between January to March 2025 at the Apapa Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has increased by 54 per cent.
This was disclosed by the Customs Area Controller (CAC), Apapa Command of the service, Compt. Babatunde Olomu when the House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise, led by its chairman, Leke Abejide visited the command for an oversight visit in Lagos.
Comptroller Olomu, during his presentation, announced that the command generated N753.8 billion in revenue in the first quarter of 2025, which is 54 per cent higher than what was collected in Q1 2024.
According to Compt. Olomu, the 2025 amount is N205 billion higher than the N489 billion collected within the same period of 2024.
He said the command also achieved an unprecedented daily revenue collection of N18.9bn on March 14, 2025, the highest in the NCS’s 135-year history.
He noted that the new record breaks the existing highest daily collection of N18.2 billion, which was achieved in October 2024.
Olomu said, the successes of compliance, revenue collection, and anti-smuggling are fallouts of collaborations where intelligence is gathered, processed and deployed for national economic interest and security.
He added that, the command is playing a critical role in the service modernization agenda, especially in the implementation of the Unified Customs Management System (B’Odogwu), saying, between January 2025 and to date, the Command has recorded nine seizures out of which five were unregistered pharmaceuticals smuggled into the country.
Responding, Abejide said ,the committee’s visit to various area commands is to check the implementation of the customs 2023/2024 budget allocation.
He described Comptroller Olomu as a fine officer and a professional, “Apapa Customs has done well in terms of trade facilitation. Comptroller Olomu is one of the best Area Controllers the Service has today” he said.
Meanwhile, the committee’s Chairman has announced plans to amend the Customs Service Act 2023 to establish a fixed four-year statutory tenure for the Comptroller General. Abejide explained that the inclusion of a specific tenure for the CGC was initially considered during the Act’s promulgation.
However, he said, the House’s legal advisor advised against it, citing the precedence of civil service rules.
Addressing customs officers and stakeholders, he said: “There is something we are trying to do now, which we need your support so much. We would have done it then, but the legal advisor said the civil service rule supersedes it, but we see that of the Police work.
“The President shall appoint the Comptroller-General of Customs to serve for four years. If we had left it then, we wouldn’t have any problems running around now.”
“If you appoint a Comptroller-General of Customs, it would take him a minimum of four years to be able to implement his policies into maturity. So, come to us, we shall implement this amendment.”
Comptroller Olomu, in his presentation, also highlighted challenges such as the need for upgraded equipment for terminal operators.
He said if properly looked into, this has the potential of facilitating trade and, in the long run, increase the revenue-generating capacity of the NCS.
He also identified poor management of the electronic truck call-up system (ETO), which almost caused industrial crises but the intervention of the Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, who directed that he meet with the leadership of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) on two separate occasions to avert a strike action and shut down of the port.
Olomu added that customs modernization cannot succeed in isolation as other government and private sector stakeholders must move with the tide to upgrade their level of automation and catch up.
He emphasised that one of the key challenges facing the command is the shortage of scanning machines and essential technological equipment.
Comptroller Olomu recommended that there should be legislation towards the procurement of more scanners at the ports and border stations to facilitate cargo clearance, a good road network to reduce congestion and improve the flow of goods, an increase in budgetary allocation to procure cargo tracking devices and advanced surveillance technologies, such as drones, to help curb smuggling activities and cargo diversion.
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