Date: 2020-10-23

The Nigeria Customs Service on Wednesday said it generated N2.71bn in its Kwara Area Command in the third quarter of the year which ended in September.

According to the third quarter report released by the Comptroller of the command, Hussein Ahmed, in Ilorin, the N2.71bn revenue represented 33.77 per cent of the expected revenue from the Area Command in 2020.

Ahmed said a comparative review of the revenue showed an increase of N2.012bn over the sum of N698.79m generated in the same period in 2019.

The Customs boss, who put 2020 revenue target for the command at N8.04bn, added that the command had so far generated N5.06bn out of it from January and September.

He said, "Since creation of the command in July last year, the command has so far generated N7.46bn and remitted same to the federation account."

Ahmed said the command recorded a total of 21 seizures worth N35.49m comprising of rice, vegetable oil and used vehicles within the period under review.

The breakdown of the seizures according to the comptroller comprised of 1,023 bags of foreign parboiled rice with duty paid value of N18m, 11 used vehicles with duty paid value of N6.97m, general merchandise with duty paid value of N86,400.

The total DPV of all the seized items is N35.49m, he said.

He also said the command had gone beyond revenue collection/generation, to creating an enabling environment for legitimate businesses to thrive in line with the Comptroller General's mandate, with the resolve by the command to achieve and equally reduce the cost of doing business.

"The collective resolve of the Customs and its sister organisations is to fight criminality, protect law-abiding Nigerians and ensure seamless information sharing and operational synergies whenever or wherever the need arises," he said.