The Apapa Area command of the Nigeria Customs Service has said that it generated revenue worth N1.02 trillion between January to December 2022.
Addressing journalists at the command in Apapa in Lagos State on Thursday, the Customs Area Controller in charge of the command, Comptroller Malanta Yusuf, said that the figure is 16 per cent higher when compared to N870 billion collected by the command in the previous year 2021.
“This feat was made possible because of our officers and men’s resilience in blocking revenue leakages and ensuring that all unpaid declarations and unutilised Pre-Arrival Assessment Reports were traced and accounted to the Federal Government coffers”
He also said that N28.2bn commodities were exported through the command within the period under review.
Yusuf said in 2022, the command recorded a total of $68.5m Free on Board export consignments.
He also said the figure had a total tonnage of 6.4m metric.
“Items exported through Apapa port last year 2022 include steel bars, agricultural produce such as Hibiscus, Sesame, Cocoa, Cashew nuts, Ginger, Soya Beans and mineral products,” he said.
Yusuf, however, said that the industry experienced a backdrop in trade from the second quarter of 2022.
“It will be recalled that from the second quarter of last year, the industry experienced a backdrop in trade, occasioned by fluctuation in exchange rate and a sharp drop in the purchasing power by the consumers which made trade unpredictable.
“In the year under review, a total number of 157 containers with a duty paid value of N14.4bn were seized, as against 102 containers with DPV of N32bn
seized in the year 2021.
The customs boss said that fake and prohibited drugs without necessary National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control certification and overdose drugs of Tramadol top the list of seizures made last year.
“Other items seized include codeine syrup, foreign parboiled rice, vegetable oil, processed/unprocessed wood, used clothing, etc. So far, a total number of 60 suspects were arrested in connection with some of the seizures and are at various stages of investigation and prosecution by other agencies of government we handed over to relevant agency” he said.
