By Balarabe Oshiafi
The Kebbi State command Comptroller of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Iheanacho Ernest Ojike, has announced that the service has generated over N36 million in the last quarter of 2024 among other achievements.
This disclosure waa made at a press briefing in Birni Kebbi on Friday.
He said “the Command has been holding series of meetings and educating our stakeholders on the basic customs procedures of importation/exportation which is aimed at stemming the tide of smuggling and increasing revenue generation.
“In particular, we assemble all our trading communities on board in a deliberate and conscious effort to forge a common ground. In all the meetings we held, we stressed the need for compliance and avoidance of importing goods that would be injurious to the health of Nigerians and destroy the economy.
“In a quest to further improve the revenue drive, the Command under the able leadership of Comptroller General of Customs Adewale Bashir Adeniyi has been actively involved in the process of reopening of Tsamiya-Sebgana border, which proposed a one-stop border post. A one-stop border cuts off all irrelevancies in documentations and non-tariff procedures preceding trade facilitation.
“Even though a lot of challenges has affected the Command’s effort at revenue generation for the federal Government; such as low volume of imports through our only official border, Kamba, the Command was still able to generate the sum of Thirty six million, two hundred and twenty three thousand, five hundred and fifty four naira fifty kobo (₦36, 223, 554.50K) within the period under review.
“As the efforts we put in place continue to translate to positive outcome, we hope to record steady rise in the Command’s revenue in the coming months.
“At this point, I will want to talk about ‘whirlwind Team’, which is a special team created by the CGC and tasked with the sole responsibility of curbing the menace of petroleum products smuggling.
Of course, we all know the implications of smuggling our petroleum products outside the shores of the country. Scarcity of these product is created here when these miscreant have their way.
“But this special team, whirlwind, has since swung into action and has successfully within the short period of their stay here reduced the menace of petroleum product smuggling in the state.
“They are a team that thrive on intelligence, and the results of their efforts speak for them.
“Here, we showcase some of their seizures of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) they have made. And they are working very hard to ensure that incidences of scarcity of the products are not experienced in the state.”
