*Rakes in unprecedented over N2bn in November, December
*Says office of Area Controller accessible to all importers/exporters, others
By; JACOB ONJEWU DICKSON
Against the thirteen billion, four hundred and thirty two million, our hundred and fifty seven thousand, six hundred and thirty Naira, point sixty eight Kobo (N13,432,457,630.68) generated in 2022, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Kaduna State Command has generated over 16 billion Naira in 2023, which is unprecedented.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer, Kaduna Area Command, Superintendent of Customs, Muhammad Aminu, on behalf of the Controller, Tijjani Abe, made available to our correspondent on Thursday January 4, 2023.
“In the year under review, the command collected the sum of eight billion, three hundred and forty one million, sixty one thousand, five hundred and thirty five Naira, (N8,341,061,535.00) from import duty, five billion, seven hundred and thirty five million, one hundred and seventy six thousand, nine hundred and nine Naira point eighty nine Kobo from excise duty (N5,735,176,989.89) and forty three million, four hundred and twenty nine thousand, seven hundred and eight Naira from fees (N43,429,781.00), cumulatively the revenue generated by the command in the year 2023 under review is sixteen billion, three hundred and seventy eight million, one hundred and seventy nine thousand, three hundred and twenty three Naira, point eight nine Kobo (N16,378,179,323.89) as against thirteen billion, four hundred and thirty two million, our hundred and fifty seven thousand, six hundred and thirty Naira, point sixty eight Kobo (N13,432,457,630.68),” it said.
According to the statement, this means there is an increase of two billion, nine hundred and forty five million, seven hundred and twenty one thousand, six hundred and ninety three Naira, twenty one Kobo (N2,945,721,693.21) which translates to a twenty one point ninety three per cent (21.93%) in increase as against that of the year 2022.
It explained that for the first time, Kaduna Area command collected over two billion Naira in November and December 2023, a figure that was never collected since the inception of the command.
The statement pointed out that the Nigeria Customs Service is a Federal Government Agency saddled with the responsibilities of revenue collection, suppression of smuggling, and trade facilitation among others.
“This press release is aimed at highlighting the efforts of Kaduna Area Command in carrying out the core mandates of the Service during the preceding year 2023.
“It is pertinent to note that, the command is predominantly a Revenue Area with three (3) Excise Factories namely: Leaf Tobacco & Commodity Nigeria Limited, Nigeria Breweries Plc (Kakuri and Kudenda Factories) and Seven-Up Bottling Company and an Inland Dry Port situated at Kakuri Kaduna,” it said.
The command therefore, reiterated that the office of the Customs Area Controller is accessible to all importers/exporters, excise traders, customs clearing agents, terminal operators and other stakeholders.
“The command has a cordial relationship with its stakeholders. within the year under review, the command was able to organize meetings and round table discussions with the stakeholders to tackle some of their challenges and this yielded the great achievement of the above revenue generation,” the statement said.
On its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), it informed that the command engages the host communities in various activities which include, Customs Community Relations Meetings (CCRM), security meetings, provision of drinking water through its barracks facility, adding that the command also has both mosque and church facility which is always accessible to the host communities.
The Controller used the medium to appreciate the robust synergy that exists among the Nigeria Customs Service with sister agencies namely; the Nigerian Armed Forces, the Nigerian Police Force, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Kaduna State Traffic Law Enforcement Authority (KASTLEA), National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and other security operatives.
“I want to thank our friends and members of the media outlet for their continued support to inform, sensitize, and educate the general public on the activities of the Nigeria Customs Service through Kaduna Area Command,” the statement added.
The Controller commended the outstanding leadership of the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale MFR, and his Management Team for supporting the command to perform its statutory functions maximally.
