Key highlights
- Apapa Command generated a sum of N212.6 billion in the first quarter of 2023.
- They had a total tonnage of 110,448 metric tonnes in the first quarter of the year
- Exports include processed agricultural goods such as sesame seeds, ginger, hibiscus, mineral resources, steel ingot, and others
The Nigerian Customs Service revealed that Apapa Command generated the sum of N212.6 billion in the first quarter of 2023.
This was disclosed on Tuesday by the Apapa Area Controller, Comptroller Auwal Mohammed, in Lagos.
He revealed that goods exported were processed agricultural goods such as sesame seeds, ginger, hibiscus, mineral resources, steel ingot, and others.
First Quarter
Area Controller, Comptroller Auwal Mohammed revealed that the command’s functions of revenue generation and collection, suppression of smuggling, and facilitating legitimate trade have been consistently implemented within the first three months of 2023, he added:
- “My meeting with various stakeholders and partner government agencies is to ensure the tempo of compliance is sustained and improved upon, the command stood forthright in foiling attempts at smuggling prohibited items into and out of the country.
- “On this note, the command recorded a total collection of N212,592,680,700.99 covering January-March”
Export and Tonnage
- He also noted that the service had had a total tonnage of 110,448 metric tonnes in the first quarter of the year including processed agricultural goods such as sesame seeds, ginger, hibiscus, mineral resources, and steel ingot for export.
- “Statistics from the export report shows that the exported goods are worth N70.2 billion which is equivalent to Free on Board (FOB) value of $159,845,232.84,”
Anti- smuggling
Customs Apapa command added that enforced government fiscal policies and extant laws to ensure that all import and export consignments transiting through Apapa Port are duly examined, which he says has been made stronger through effective collaboration and timely sharing of credible intelligence with sister government agencies in the port.
He said they made seizures of 14 containers comprising of prohibited items such as vegetable oil, foot wears, used clothing, unprocessed wood, and tramadol tablets with a Duty Paid Value of N22.1 billion.
“It is pertinent to mention that on March 31 the command uncovered a large quantity of 225mg of tramadol tablets concealed in 2x40ft container numbers TRHU 4758549 and TRHU 6936803.
“143.8 million tablets of Tramadol 225mg were discovered in 720 cartons weighing 10.3 tonnes (10,386kg) that originated from India, and this single seizure is valued at N21.6 billion.”
Backstory
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Apapa Command, generated revenue of N1.02 trillion in 2022. This is 16.07 percent higher than the N870.38 billion generated in 2021.
The NCS stated such records earnings were achieved through its resilience towards blocking leakages, adding that they blocked leakages and traced unpaid duties. He said:
- “This feat was made possible because of the resilience of our officers and men in blocking revenue leakages and ensuring that all unpaid declarations and uninitialized Pre-Arrival Assessment Reports had been traced and accounted to the Federal Government coffers.”
