…Rakes in N1.8 Trillion in 10 months
The Apapa command of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS has handed over six containers of expired and falsely declared pharmaceuticals and controlled products to the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.
Speaking at a press briefing in Lagos on Monday to mark the hand over, the Customs Area Controller of the Command, Comptroller Babatunde Olomu disclosed that some of the contents of pharmaceuticals were unapproved dosage of tramadol, cough syrup with codeine, injections among others.
Olomu said, “As a Service, we owe Nigerians the duty of preventing the import and export of cargo that could undermine their well-being and security. These medical importations have expired, while others are not evaluated by NAFDAC and could cause damages to Nigerians, if prompted.
“The contents of these containers contravene the Prohibition of Schedule 3 of the Common External Tariff and Sections 233 of the NCS Act 2023. These seizures should serve as a deterrence to those involved in any form of illegality and an encouragement for lawful and compliant traders.”
He observed that the handover underscored the robust inter-agency collaboration between the Nigerian Customs Service and other sister government agencies, and its ability to prevent illicit importation from entering the Nigerian market through the ports.
He said from January 2024 to date, the command has made over 36 seizures of various items, ranging from used clothings, frozen poultry products, tramadol, unregistered pharmaceutical products, and other controlled substances valued at over N1.5 billion.
On Revenue collection, the Controller who revealed that the command collected a total sum of N1. 8 trillion between January and October 2024, said that the figure was higher than N931 billion collected within the corresponding period of 2023, showing a 101% increase.
“Despite a remarkable decline in the volume of trade, this Command has been able to block leakages and achieve maximum collection of revenue as evidenced in our monthly activities. It is instructive to state that for the period of October 2024, collection is N264,455,587,792,056.
“This is the highest monthly collection in the history of the Command. Therefore, we are hopeful of meeting and even surpassing our targets of N2.2 trillion as the year winds down. Let me also mention that in the month of October, we had the highest daily collection of 18.2 billion in one day.
“So, we are hopeful that at this pace, because the Command is on autopilot, within the next one week or two weeks, the Command will hit the 2 trillion naira revenue”, Olomu said.
In the area of trade facilitation, Olomu said the Command has keyed into trade facilitation tools like the AEO and Advanced Ruling to ensure seamless movement of both imports and exports. He added that in line with the federal government’s agenda of ease of doing business, the Command operates on Saturdays and Sundays to ensure that importers take delivery of their cargo without any delay.
“We also have an intra-government working system where all government agencies work together as a team without compromising the mandates of our respective agencies. Equally, we have a wider Customs Stakeholder Forum where all the issues pertaining to Customs are looked into and addressed as and when due. It is noteworthy to state that just last week, the Command facilitated the first shipments of cargo to Kenya under the AfCFTA regime,” he said.
Comptroller Olomu attributed the improved compliance level by agents operating at the command to regular interactions established by the command. He also expressed appreciation to sister government agencies, including NDLEA, NAFDAC, the DSS, and the Nigerian Police for their contributions to the success achieved by the command.
He reaffirmed the command’s commitment to thoroughly examine all containers using scanners and physical means where necessary.
“We shall continue to detect false information, concealments, undervaluation, and other unethical practices aimed at evading duties, shortchanging the government, and also exposing citizens to unsafe products”, he added.
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