Mkpoikana Udoma
Port Harcourt — The Nigeria Customs Service, Area 11 Command, Onne Port in Rivers State says it generated a total revenue of N107,336,142,833.59 from the Duty Paid Value on imported goods in 2019.
Customs Area Controller, Onne Port, Galadima Saidu, said the figure surpasses the annual target of N95.7 billion for last year by N11.6 billion which represents 112 percent of the target.
Saidu disclosed that a total of 255,407 metric tonnes of goods with a total Free on Board value of $78,402,057, which is equivalent to N28,420,745,662.5 at N362.5 per dollar, was processed through Onne port in 2019.
He said a total of 99 containers were seized in 2019 due to false declarations, concealment and non-provision of end-user certificates, amongst others.
“A total of 24 seizures with duty paid value of one billion, two hundred and seventy eight million, seven hundred and eight thousand and eleven naira (N1,278,708,011) were also recorded in the area of anti-smuggling.
“The seizures include 99 containers, comprising vegetable oil, detergents, bags of foreign rice, scrap metals, corrugated aluminium sheets, furniture, tin tomatoes, Insect repellant/killer, bales of fabric and wax materials.
Also Read: Customs surpasses 2019 revenue target by N11.6bn at Onne
“The seizures were made due to wrong documentation, false declarations, wrong classification, concealment and non-provision of end user certificate for the imported items,” he said.
Saidu regretted the continued menace of smuggling across the nation’s ports and borders, saying it was capable of undermining the fiscal polices of the Federal Government on imports as well as its effects on the nation’s security and socio-economic development.
He advised all stakeholders to remain patriotic in their behaviour and shun any action or inaction capable of jeopardising the government’s fiscal polices.
