The Nigeria Customs Service, Federal Operations Unit Zone ‘C’, Owerri, Imo State, has received a new Comptroller in the person of Mr Michael Ugbagu.
This comes as the unit has seized contraband goods worth N7,577,259,390.00 between January 25th, 2023, and April 19th, 2024.
Outgoing Comptroller Kayode Kolade disclosed this in a farewell message while handing over to his successor and the new Comptroller of the Unit, Mr. Michael Ugbagu.
Kayode thanked the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, and his entire management team for the trust and confidence bestowed on him to serve as Comptroller FOUC and for replacing him with Comptroller Ugbagu, who happens to be a thorough enforcement guru.
He said: ‘I am grateful to the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, and his entire management team for the trust and confidence bestowed on me from January 25th, 2023, to April 19th, 2024, as I hand over the affairs of this unit to another amiable Comptroller, Mr Michael Ugbagu, who is also a thorough enforcement guru.’
He thanked the officers of the unit for their unparalleled support, commitment, dedication, hard work, and prayers, adding that their support was the reason for his successes.
He said that the unit, within his time, was able to make substantial and spectacular seizures, totalling 198 seizures with a duty-paid value of Seven Billion, Five Hundred and Seventy-seven Million, Two Hundred and Fifty-nine Thousand, Three Hundred and Ninety Naira only (N7,577,259,390.00), derived from five sacks of pangolin scales weighing 413.1kg worth N523,356,390; 1,813 bags of 50 kg each of foreign parboiled rice worth N105,105,000.00; 815 sacks of Cannabis sativa weighing 17,950 kg; and 2,935 parcels (1 kg each) weighing 2,935kg (totalling 20,885 kg) worth N1,670,800,000.00.
Other seizures and their breakdown include DSP/CMC COUGH SYRUP WITH CODEINE 31 CTNS CONTAINING 3,600 BOTTLES N21,600,000.00, VEHICLES 52 UNITS INCLUDING 3 ARMOURED VEHICLES N4,275,000,000.00, EXPLOSIVE DEVICES 9 SACKS 50KG OF EXPLOSIVE MATERIALS/SUPER POWER90 SUBTANCE/CABLES N12,990,000.00, among others.
The outgoing Comptroller said that under his watch, lots of lost revenues were recovered to the tune of One Hundred and Fifty-Five Million, Eight Hundred and Nineteen Thousand, Seven Hundred and Fourteen Naira only (N155,819,714.00) within his 15 months in office.
He called on everyone to extend the same support and cooperation to his successor, Comptroller Michael Ugbagu, as he pilots the affairs of the unit and wishes him well.
In his response, Comptroller Michael Ugbagu thanked the CGC and his entire management team for bestowing him with the mandate to oversee the affairs of FOUC.
He thanked Comptroller Kolade for his ‘highly commendable’ achievements while he held sway and pledged continued compliance with established guidelines.
He promised to ensure compliance with the current import and export guidelines by using intelligence and technology to drive our operations.
He said: ‘There will be watertight security against smuggling activities across the zone. Smugglers will be discouraged, frustrated, and made uncomfortable, thereby making smuggling, duty evasion, and warehousing of smuggled goods unattractive within the zone,’ he stated.
He called for support and cooperation from the media and the general public to enable him to carry out his new assignment.
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