Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Nigerian Customs Services, NCS, says it has generated over N25.5billion in the first quarter of 2019, at the Port Harcourt II Area Command, Onne seaport, in Rivers State.
Customs Controller, Port Harcourt II Area Command, Aliyu Galadima Saidu, stated that the command also seized nine containers loaded with items such as vegetable oil, soaps, machetes, wears and rice with duty paid the value of over N106million, within the period under review.
Saidu, in a statement by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Ifeoma Ojekwu, explained that the amount generated and containers seized so far shows a 26.3percent increase as compared to what the command generated within the same time frame, last year.
He assured that the Command will not rest on its oars and will strive to justify the confidence reposed on NCE by the country, to make sure that this year achievement surpasses the previous year.
“The Command has started the year 2019 on a promising note. It is heart-warming to note that during the first quarter, the Command has been able to generate the sum of ₦25,561,932,417.78 when compare to ₦18,857,668,490.00 generated in the first quarter of 2018, accrued to 26.2 percent increase.
“We recorded seizures of nine containers comprising 57,300 pieces of machetes without end-user certificates; 2,000 Jerry Cans of 25 litres of vegetable oil; 6,456 cartons of foreign soap; 535 bales and 142 cartons of wears; and 69 bags of foreign rice with a total Duty Paid Value of ₦106,889,670.00.”
The Onne Customs boss further said that the achievement of the command was as a result of the support it enjoys from the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd) and his management team.
He reassured the public of the Command resolution to achieve speedy clearance of cargo from the ports, and also reduce the cost of doing business in the maritime industry owing to the Presidential directives on Ease of Doing Business.
He urged stakeholders to live upright in their declarations with due diligence and professionalism in proper documentation to avoid the negative consequences of contravening the law.
“The overall achievement is sequel to the support of the Comptroller-General of Customs and his management team with the full deployment of NICIS II application in the Command which necessitated training of 520 Officers, the resultant effect has yielded an intrinsic advantage in terms of revenue, control of infractions in the system and increased compliance level as a result of the additional functionalities.
“We also affirm on the zero tolerance of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (Rtd.) for smuggling which remains unalterable as the Service will do everything within its capacity to fight it to a standstill.
“Furthermore, the Command has started an in-house training of its Officers and Men on trade facilitation and with emphasis on oil and gas equipment.”
