The Comptroller-General, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adeniyi, yesterday, disclosed that the service recorded a total revenue collection of N4.49 trillion between June 2023 and May 2024. The performance represented a remarkable growth of 74 per cent in revenue collection when compared to N2.58 trillion collected during the corresponding period of the previous year.
Addressing journalists in the nation’s capital, Abuja at a briefing on the performance of the service in the past year, Adeniyi said the achievement was underpinned by a sustained increase of 70.13 per cent in average monthly revenue collection compared to the previous year.
He said NCS recorded an average monthly revenue of N343 billion, compared to N202 billion, and added that there was a substantial 122.35 per cent rise in revenue collection during the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in the previous year. Adeniyi attributed the gains recorded to various strategic initiatives, including N15 billion recovery by the Revenue Review Performance Recovery exercise; N2.79 billion recovered from the 90-day window for the regularization of the documents of uncustomed vehicles; and N1.5 billion recovered from the decongestion of 1,705 overtime containers and 981 vehicles from the ports.
The CGC stated that NCS recorded a daily all-time-high collection of N58.5 billion on June 13, 2024. According to him, the service recorded 63 seizures related to animal and wildlife products valued at N566 million, including seven seizures of arms and ammunition made through the country’s ports and borders.
He also said in terms of illicit drugs, a combined total of 127 cases involving narcotics and pharmaceutical products valued at over N6 billion were confiscated.
Adeniyi said the service recorded 724 seizures, involving 2.93 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, that were about to be smuggled out of the country. Adeniyi also said in a bid to guarantee food security and suppress the smuggling of food in and out of the country, NCS recorded 1,744 cases of rice and grain seizures valued at N4.4 billion.
