Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, says it generated at the Tin Can Island port a staggering N1.25 trillion in the 2024 fiscal year, representing 88.88% of its annual revenue target, with an additional N347.9 billion already recorded in Q1 2025 alone.
This was revealed during an oversight visit by members of the House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise, as the lawmakers pledged renewed legislative support for Customs reforms.
Speaking, Comptroller Frank Onyeka, Customs Area Controller of the Tin Can Command, noted that the 2025 Q1 figures marked a 14.54% increase over the same period in 2024, attributing the performance to “effective revenue generation strategies and a zero-tolerance approach to leakages.”
“This performance underscores our continued commitment to fostering economic development while ensuring accountability. We are not just collecting revenue we are also securing the nation.”
Onyeka further stressed the importance of stakeholder collaboration in achieving trade facilitation goals, while praising the ICT unit of the NCS for prompt responses to technical challenges.
“When we have issues of downtime, we quickly communicate to our ICT department in Abuja, and those issues are dealt with almost immediately,” he said.
However, the Customs Area Comptroller decried several operational hurdles, including poor road infrastructure, unsafe waterways, and inadequate port facilities.
“A customs officer resumes by 8:00am, but containers are not positioned until about 12:00pm due to lack of forklifts. The facilities are not there. These things slow us down,” he lamented.
Assistant Comptroller General and Zonal Coordinator for Zone A, Charles Orbih, emphasized the dual mandate of Customs in both revenue generation and national security. “Our enforcement arm has made critical interventions and seizures of prohibited items, particularly hard drugs, arms, and ammunition,” he said.
In response, Chairman of the House Committee on Customs and Excise, Hon. Leke Abejide, lauded the revenue performance of the Tin Can Island Port Command and assured the NCS of the legislature’s continued backing.
Abejide said the visit signals strong parliamentary interest in improving Customs operations and ensuring the agency meets its strategic revenue and security obligations in Nigeria’s economic landscape.
“There are people working for you at the parliament, and we are not joking with it. The Speaker is equally with us, working to ensure Customs is not relegated.
“We have seen how you’re able to perform within this first quarter. Now we are in the second quarter, and we appreciate your efforts. There is hope that Customs will meet up with the N10 trillion target this year,” he concluded.
