The Nigerian Customs Services, NCS, says it has generated over
N25.5billion in the first quarter of 2019, at the Port Harcourt II
Area Command, Onne seaport, in Rivers State.
Customs Comptroller, Port Harcourt II Area Command, Aliyu Galadima
Saidu, stated that the command also seized nine containers loaded with
items such as vegetable oil, soaps, machetes, wears and rice with duty
paid the value of over N106million, within the period under review.
Saidu, in a statement by the Command’s Public Relations Officer,
Ifeoma Ojekwu, explained that the amount generated and containers
seized so far shows a 26.3percent increase as compared to what the
command generated within the same time frame, last year.
He assured that the Command will not rest on its oars and will strive
to justify the confidence reposed on NCE by the country, to make sure
that this year achievement surpasses the previous year.
The Command has started the year 2019 on a promising note. It is
heart-warming to note that during the first quarter, the Command has
been able to generate the sum of ₦25,561,932,417.78 when compare to
₦18,857,668,490.00 generated in the first quarter of 2018, accrued to
26.2 percent increase.
We recorded seizures of nine containers comprising 57,300 pieces of
machetes without end-user certificates; 2,000 Jerry Cans of 25 litres
of vegetable oil; 6,456 cartons of foreign soap; 535 bales and 142
cartons of wears; and 69 bags of foreign rice with a total Duty Paid
Value of ₦106,889,670.00.
The Onne Customs boss further said that the achievement of the command
was as a result of the support it enjoys from the Comptroller-General
of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd) and his management team.
He reassured the public of the Command resolution to achieve speedy
clearance of cargo from the ports, and also reduce the cost of doing
business in the maritime industry owing to the Presidential directives
on Ease of Doing Business.
He urged stakeholders to live upright in their declarations with due
diligence and professionalism in proper documentation to avoid the
negative consequences of contravening the law.
The overall achievement is sequel to the support of the
Comptroller-General of Customs and his management team with the full
deployment of NICIS II application in the Command which necessitated
training of 520 Officers, the resultant effect has yielded an
intrinsic advantage in terms of revenue, control of infractions in the
system and increased compliance level as a result of the additional
functionalities.
We also affirm on the zero tolerance of the Comptroller-General of
Customs, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (Rtd.) for smuggling which remains
unalterable as the Service will do everything within its capacity to
fight it to a standstill.
Furthermore, the Command has started an in-house training of its
Officers and Men on trade facilitation and with emphasis on oil and
gas equipment.