Comptroller MT Awe at the briefing.
Story by Dili Utomi.
The various Commands and Units under the Nigeria Customs Service seem totally keyed into the policies of the Comptroller-General of Customs as they are currently churning out record performances in their various mandates.
The Customs Area Controller of the Murtala Mohammed Airport Command, Nigeria Customs Service Wednesday afternoon spoke to the press about the performance of the Command from January to October and he revealed some exciting records.
Comptroller Michael T. Awe while addressing journalists said that “The Command generated revenue to the tune of One Hundred and Forty-Four Billion, Two Hundred and Two Million, Five Hundred and Sixty-Six Thousand, Nine Hundred and Seventy-Five Naira only (₦144,202, 566, 975.00K) from customs duties and other charges”.
“In comparison to the revenue collected in the same period in 2023 which stood at Seventy-four Billion, Two hundred and Eighty-Six Million, Seven hundred and Seven Thousand, Four Hundred and Forty-three Naira only (₦74,286,707,443.00K), this clearly shows a progressive difference of Sixty-Nine Billion, Nine Hundred and Fifteen Million, Eight Hundred and Fifty-Nine Thousand, Five Hundred and Thirty-One Naira Only (₦69,915,859,531.00k), depicting 94% increase”.
Comptroller Awe with an NDLEA official at the hand over of the seized drugs with the seized items in front
The Controller also added that “The efforts to combat illicit trade yielded impressive results, with total Duty Paid Value (DPV) of seized items amounting to Three Billion, Three hundred and Twenty-two million, Two hundred and thirty-nine thousand, Three hundred and Fifty-five Naira (₦3,322,239,355.00K) only, between July and October 2024. The seized items contravened some of the provisions of the extant laws as enshrined in the Nigeria Customs Service Act (NCS Act) 2023. These items include:
23 Pieces of Walkie Talkies, 175 Pieces of Military Helmets, 50 Pieces of Drones, 10 Packs of Canadian Cannabis indica, 250 pieces of Live Turtles, 7 Packages of 200mg & 225mg of Tramadol Hydrochloride, 1.5kg of Pangolin Scales and 0.2kg of Porcupine Pins”.
The CAC informed the gathering that certain factors such as as streamlined clearance procedures, enhanced cargo inspection and examination, improved intelligence gathering and sharing, collaboration with other security agencies, and regular Stakeholder engagements largely contributed to their successes thus far.
During the questions and answers session, the CAC said that the morale of officers of the Command is quite high and that they have braced up for any challenges that may come. He added that the Airport Command is peculiar and requires dedicated and committed officers which they have and that though some stakeholders would like to do things their own way, the Command uses the carrot and stick approach to handle them and that that works very well.
The seized military equipment came in from Turkey and one suspect is currently under detention for the seized items. Comptroller Awe expressed appreciation to the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR and his management team for their unwavering support in carrying out official tasks effectively.
Similarly, he hailed the officers and men of the command for their hard work and dedication towards achieving this great feat as well as stakeholders, the press and the general public who do help with critical information when required.
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