Customs Generates A Record-Breaking N188.6 bn At Onne Port In 2021 

From January to December 2021, the Nigeria Customs Service’s Area two Command at Onne Port received N188.6 billion.

News Agency of Nigeria

Mrs Ifeoma Ojekwu, Customs Public Relations Officer at Onne Port Command in Rivers, made the announcement on Monday in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

According to Ojekwu, the collection was the biggest in the command’s history, according to Comptroller Auwal Mohammed, the command’s Customs Area Controller (CAC).

The statement quoted the Comptroller Mohammed as saying that the command’s revenue generation in 2021 surpassed the 2020 collection by N69.6 billion.

According to the statement, a total of N118. 96 billion was generated as revenue by the command in 2020.

In terms of enforcement and anti-smuggling actions, the CAC reported that 34 seizures were conducted in 2021, totaling N11.98 billion in duty paid.

He said: “Prominent among the seizures is 1,387 cartons of tramadol falsely declared to evade detection.

“Other seizures include rice, engine parts, vegetable oil and other concealed items with intent by defiant agents and importers to evade accurate duty payments.’’

During the time under review, the command handled 1,083,846 metric tonnes of cargo with a total Free On board (FOB) value of $402,367,568 on exports, according to Mohammed.

According to the statement, the overall export value under the Nigerian Export Supervision Scheme (NESS) was N764, 462,724 throughout the time.

Mohammed praised the command’s officers and troops for their unwavering dedication to facilitating legal trade and eliminating all forms of smuggling.

In 2022, he asked them to redouble their efforts under carrying out all NCS tasks in the command.

He also recommended them to prepare themselves technologically, as the scanners that had been purchased will be deployed shortly, allowing for speedier cargo clearance and easier identification of hidden items.

He promised that the command will build on the gains that had been achieved via customs community engagement programs.

Also, the CAC in an end of the year interaction with senior officers commended them for the“feats jointly achieved in revenue collection, enforcement and trade facilitation’’.

“They are indeed laudable milestones that we must not only sustain but also improve upon for the benefit of our country’s economy and national security.

“Indeed, our various meetings with stakeholders and port users paid off in 2021 because we have noted remarkable improvements in compliance levels.

“As we enter 2022, let us continue to blend our enforcement capability with intelligence, to always detect all attempts at circumventing the law through false declarations, under declarations and concealments.

“In 2022, whoever attempts doing the wrong thing, like smuggling through Onne Port, will get his cargo seized and risks facing arrest for prosecution in accordance with the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA).

“We cannot afford to compromise our positions or disappoint on the trust reposed on us. I hereby advise, once again, that all importers and agents using this area for their businesses stay on the part of compliance at all times,’’ he said