Nigeria Customs Service, Kwara Area Command has generated a sum of N1, 270, 907,860.72 into the federation account in three months.
It is recalled that management of the Nigeria Customs Service, led by Col. Ibrahim Hameed Ali (Rtd), recently unbundled and created additional eight commands to enhance administrative convenience, boost Revenue generation for the service and effective coverage of the nation’s land borders.
In a statement by the state’s Customs boss, Comptroller Ahmed Hussaini Bello said that three months into the assumption of duty, he had keyed into the 3Rs of Controller General of Customs whose aim is to “BOOST REVENUE GENERATION, RESTRUCTURE AND REFORMATION”.
In August 2019, the Command generated N980, 652.00 while in September, the Command collected N697, 810,389.50 which shows that what was generated in the month of September tripled the revenue generated in the month of August.
In October, the Command generated N572,116,819.22.
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This great feat was achieved due to strategic policies and plans put in place by the Command to bring all the excise factories within the Command under effective control by forcing them to comply with the extant laws. The Command has been able to make changes, by making sure that its driving wheel is strictly adhered to, which led to the increased level of compliance by Stakeholders, as the Controller is determined to make Kwara Area Command a new haven for legitimate trade facilitation.
In our efforts to key into the Federal Government’s Policy on Agricultural Development in the area of boosting local rice production, the Command has made our territories unfavourable for rice smugglers and other prohibited items. The Controller urged all Nigerians to embrace Federal government fiscal policy on production of Agricultural produce with particular reference to rice production for both home consumption and export for self-reliance.
The Customs area Controller would also like to use this opportunity to reiterate that the Command’s resolve to rid the Kwara Command off all prohibited goods. The Command is already complementing efforts of operation Ex Swift Response Team, Code named Border Drill. This led to seizures of foreign Rice, Petroleum Products and a large quantity of Mosquito Coils with Duty Paid Value (DPV) N25,403,500.
The seizures were made around Okuta, Ogundele Ilorin express road, Jabba-Mokwa express road, Maigida-Arogaji Road Ilorin and Chikanda axis of Kwara State respectively.
Compt. Ahmed wants to make this clear to economic saboteurs that, the ban on importation of rice, used vehicles through the land borders, Vegetable Oil, Secondhand Clothing, Used Tyres, and other dangerous drugs such as Tramadol is still in place and the Kwara Command is committed to enforcing this to the later.
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