The House of Representatives has expressed grave concern over the continuous closure of some Nigerian land borders, saying the country was losing huge revenue due to the closure.
Chairman, House Committee on Customs and Excise, Hon. Leke Abejide and other lawmakers made the observation during an oversight visit to zone B of the Nigeria Customs Service, comprises of Kano/Jigawa, Katsina, Sokoto/Zamfara, Kebbi, Niger/Kogi, Kwara, FCT Commands, as well as the Federal Operation Unit.
Hon. Abejide also frowned against poor revenue generated by many of the Commands who complained that the continuous closure was affecting their operations even though smuggling of goods still go on in the zone.
Hon. Abejide spoke of the need for joint security operation to curb insecurity that has also impacted heavily on revenue generation in the zone.
According to him, the Committee will sponsor a motion when the House resume from its annual vacation in collaboration with other security related Committees and possible their Senate counterpart with a view to finding lasting solution.
He however expressed disappointment with the revenue efforts of some of the commands, despite having the complement of a number of staff and demanded the expenditure of such commands.
ALSO READ: Why Sowore is detained — Police
He said the Committee may be compelled to recommend merging some of the non-performing Commands, saying they cannot continue to draw funds generated by other Commands, while contributing little or nothing.
Reacting to the presentation of the Katsina command, Hon. Abejide said what the Command was contributing to the coffer was not encouraging enough, saying despite having about 331 staff, the Command could only generate about ₦140 million in six months.
But the Controller of Katsina Command, Mr. Abba-Aji Idriss attributed the low revenue to the continuous closure of the border stations in the State, saying out of the 11 border stations, only Jibia Magama border was officially opened, but was quick to add that the revenue generated did not come from the border.
He said many of the border stations were non-accessible to his men because of the activities of bandits that have taken over the areas, saying “even the military cannot access the areas.”
In his response, Controller of the Sokoto/Zamfara Command, Mr. U. M. Abdulkadir disclosed that there was serious pressure on the Command because of the permit to allow premium motor spirit (PMS) from Dangote Refinery in the Lekki Free Trade zone pass through the border into Niger Republic which has been withdrawn from the office of the National Security Adviser (oNSA).
He said with a high demand for PMS in Niger Republic, there was the tendency of an increased activities by smugglers of the product into Niger Republic.
In terms of revenue generation, commands under the zone generated about ₦96.042 billion within the first six months of the year, with one Command, Niger/Kogi generating zero naira.
In his intervention, Hon. Sa’ad Taura said the Committee must find a way of addressing the challenge, while ruling out the option of asking the military to take over the border posts.
Also speaking, Hon. Shehu Faggae said the House must do something to reclaim the land borders, especially the Jibia border which he described as the largest land border in the North.
He said: “we cannot allow it to go. If the Controller is telling us that the border is gone, we need to do something about it as a Committee. That is one of the reasons we are here.”
While expressing support for improved welfare packages for NCS personnel, Hon. Abejide disclosed that the Committee recommended a 100 percent salary review for Officers and men of the service.
He said: “in the 2025 budget, we approved an upward review of salaries for Customs officers. But lack of funds has hampered the implementation. I am sure that with the 4 percent Free on Board (FOB), they will be have enough money to implement it.”
He also said the continuous closure of the borders was not in the economic interest of the country.
WATCH TOP VIDEOS FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE TV
- Let’s Talk About SELF-AWARENESS
- Is Your Confidence Mistaken for Pride? Let’s talk about it
- Is Etiquette About Perfection…Or Just Not Being Rude?
- Top Psychologist Reveal 3 Signs You’re Struggling With Imposter Syndrome
- Do You Pick Up Work-Related Calls at Midnight or Never? Let’s Talk About Boundaries
and then