• Laud Customs ForArms Seizure, ImprovedRevenue Generation
The Chairman House Committee on Customs and Excise, Leke Abejide, has said the committee has plans to probe the activities of Bonded Terminals and Free Trade Zones in the country.
Abejide, who spoke during an oversight visit to the Nigeria Customs Service Headquarters in Abuja, said: “We will scrutinise the activities of Bonded Terminals and the operations of the Free Trade Zones (FTZ) facilities across the country to identify and eradicate any illegal activities.”
He, however, commended the Customs for its outstanding revenue generation, trade facilitation and the service’s recent achievements in the seizures of arms and ammunition in a Bonded Terminal in Onne Port, Rivers State.
The chairman also commended a similar seizure made by the officers of NCS Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos State, which, according to him, is a testament to Customs vigilance and effectiveness.
He observed that the seizures have potentially saved countless Nigerian lives, demonstrating the exceptional skills and dedication of NCS personnel in protecting the nation’s borders.He urged the NCS officers not to relax.
The Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Adewale Adeniyi, said the service is indeed grateful for such commendation, recognition, and applause from the committee.
The CGC stated that the presence of the committee underscores the critical role that legislative oversight plays in ensuring the efficiency, transparency, and accountability of NCS operations and project implementation.
Giving a breakdown of the success stories of the NCS, the Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Tariff and Trade, Caroline Niagwan, said the service was able to generate N2.742trillion within the first half of 2024, surpassing the first half of the year’s expected revenue target of N2.539trillion.
representing 54 percent of the revenue target for the year.
She noted that for the service to align with international best practices, trade facilitation tools have been upgraded to Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Programmes where reliable and compliant traders are rewarded for taking their goods with little or no customs control when they meet specific safety and security standards.
Also speaking, Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Enforcement, Inspection and Investigation, Bello Jibo, revealed that the ‘Operation Whirlwind’ had made a lot of seizures of petroleum products. He revealed that NCS is collaborating with the NNPC to achieve so much.
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