By Chiazo Ogbolu
The Assistant Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Mohammed Auwal, says compliance is the bedrock of port efficiency.
Auwal said this at a farewell session with senior officers of the command on Wednesday in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Auwal until July 28, was the Customs Area Controller of Apapa Command.
The former controller was officially decorated with his new ACG rank on July 31 by the Ag. Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi in Abuja.
Auwal described the revenue collection as an outcome of leakage prevention, zero compromise for duty evasion and due diligence in the face of reduced volume of trade.
He also thanked the officers and stakeholders for their support.
Auwal described the various interventions such as demand notices to recover identified shortfalls in revenue as helpful.
“The Apapa Command of Nigeria Customs Service has collected a total of N540,431,401,641 as revenue from January to July.
“I also commend the N119,049,235,263 July collection, which is presently the highest monthly revenue made by the command.
“Before now, N95 billion collected in January and August 2022 was the highest monthly collection,” he said.
Auwal also thanked the officers, other government agencies, and members of the Apapa port community for their cooperation throughout his time as the Area Controller.
“The job of preventing prohibited items such as arms, ammunition, illicit drugs, and others under the import and export prohibition lists from entering or exiting the country through Apapa port was treated as a collective duty under his watch,” he said.
Auwal described inter-agency synergy and intelligence sharing as the first bold step in defeating criminals who seek to use ports for their unlawful activities.
“Compliance is one word that appeals to both government and private sector stakeholders because we are all governed by rules to which we owe duty to obey.
“Apapa port holds potential to handle the highest volume of trade in West and Central Africa with the possibility of being a trade hub for seamless cargo movement if importers, agents, and freight forwarders comply by making sincere declarations and avoiding smuggling,” he said. (NAN)
