An Act of Kindness From Western Marine Command of Nigeria Customs Service

NCBN

Western Marine Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has released relief materials worth N40,892,000 to the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management in Lagos.

The Area Comptroller of the Command, Olugboyega Peters, who handed over the items to the representative of the Minister, said the gesture was in compliance with the directive of Customs Comptroller General, Col Hameed Ibrahim Ali (Rtd), as part of Federal Government’s measure to cushion the effects of lockdown caused by Covid-19 pandemic.

Peters said the items were smuggled, seized, and condemned by the court of competent jurisdiction before being released in line with the government’s directive.

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The minister, who was represented by Mrs. Oluwakemi Adedeji, an official of the Ministry, thanked the CGC for the support and high compliance level. She said the relief items would be moved to Nassarawa State for onward distribution to the less privileged and vulnerable in the society.

According to Comptroller Peters, 720 bags of 50kg foreign parboiled rice,  valued at N9, 360,000 with the duty of N5,616,000 and duty paid value of N14,976,000,  297 bales of used clothing valued at N20, 790,000 with the duty of N4, 158,000 and duty paid value of N24,948,000, and 11 sacks of used shoes valued at N880,000 with the duty of N88,000 and duty paid value of N968,000 were among the items released.

Courtesy: SunNews (Raphael)

It was a moment of cheering, as Comptroller BN Binga hands over the stewardship of the Western Marine Command to Comptroller Olugboyega Peters as the new Customs Area Controller CAC.

SEE PHOTO

Comptroller Binga Hands Over the Reigns of Western Marine Command to Comptroller Peters

Speaking at the occasion in Lagos, Peters described Comptroller Binga as an experienced and intelligent officer, even as he promised to tap from his wealth of knowledge, as well as expertise whenever a situation arises.

He said, “The Command under Comptroller Binga performed very well in curtailing smuggling on sea. We are ready to build on the achievements of my predecessor and to step up security surveillance on the creeks, waterways. In doing so, we will always seek the expertise of Comptroller Binga.”

He pointed out, “Customs is doing a lot in tackling smuggling on high sea. Western Marine Command is a terrain for professionals. It is the Federal Operations on Sea.

“We are calling for greater working synergy with the media in area of information sharing. The media practitioners should not hesitate to inform the Service whenever they have useful intelligence. We must do everything for the betterment of our economy”.

More so, Comptroller Peters said that Western Marine under his watch will leave no stone un-turn in curbing illicit trade on creeks and waterways, in order to support revenue-generating formations enhance income flow for the Federal Government.

His assertion, “Western Marine as an amphibious arm of the Service will maintain a good working collaboration with relevant stakeholders in carrying out its statutory functions.”

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In his response, Comptroller Binga stressed, “I am handing over the Command to a very competent officer. I believe he will do more to surpass what we have done so far in this Command.

“Comptroller Peters is PSC ++ officer and I know that he will do very well in moving the Command forward. He is a core professional in Customs operations. He has what it takes to succeed in his new assignment. I wish him good luck”.

It was learned that the Command under the supervision of Comptroller Binga made tremendous impacts in anti-smuggling drive on creeks and high sea.

Some of the mind-boggling seizures recorded by Compt. Binga includes uniforms of Nigerian Military, Immigration, Police and Air-Force.

In 2019 alone, Compt. Binga and his team recorded 30 seizures of various items, namely foreign rice; textile materials; cannabis sativa; wrappers; petroleum products; tramadol; buffalo horns; large quantities of smuggled poultry products; second-hand shoes and clothes, among other prohibited items worth over N129.5million, as against N98.1million recorded the previous year -2018.

Also, Western Marine under Compt. Binga participated in 2019 ‘Anti-smuggling sensitisation workshop’ held at Yaba College of Technology Lagos, where over 290 participants were enlightened on the dangers of smuggling to the nation’s economy. The Command delivered a well-researched lecture and was honoured with award of ‘Entrepreneurship Development in Nigeria.’

News Source: FinancialBusinessNews

A Whooping N1,341,690,568,327.18 was Generated in 2019 – “Col. Hameed Ali (Comptroller, Nigeria Customs Service)”

PRESS RELEASE – Nigeria Customs Service generated the sum of N1,341,690,568,327.18 for the year 2019. Amount generated is over the target of N937,286,121,586.00 set for the year 2019 and N139,241,835,082.29 over the sum of N1,202,448,733,244.89 generated in 2018. Commenting on this feat, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col, Hameed Ibrahim Ali (Rtd) described it as a result of the resolute pursuit of what is right rather than being populist by compromising national interest on the altar of individual or group interests.

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The service revenue generation profile has continued to be on the rise annually as the ongoing reforms in the Service insists on:

• Strategic deployment of officers strictly using the standard operating procedure.
• Strick enforcement of extant guidelines by the tariff and trade department.
• Automation of the Customs process thereby eliminating vices associated with the manual process.
• Robust stakeholder sensitization resulting in more informed/voluntary compliance.
• Increased disposition of officers and men to put national interest above selves.
• The partial border closure which has forced cargoes that could have been smuggled through the porous borders to come through the sea and airports raised revenue collection from ports.

Before the commencement of the border drill on 20th August 2019, revenue generation was between N4 billion to N5 billion but now NCS generates between N5 billion to N7 billion daily.
The partial border closure is a decisive action against the challenging issue of trans-border crime and criminalities, fueled by the noncompliance to ECOWAS Protocol on the transit of goods by neighboring Countries.NCS hopes that the ongoing discussions with our neighbours will yield permanent solutions to the challenges of border security.

The Service wishes to express its readiness to strictly implement the outcome of the ongoing diplomatic engagements.
In the same vein, the Service efforts to prevent the entry of items that could compromise the security of our citizens, the National Economy and the well being of our people resulted in the seizures of 30,906 assorted items with a duty paid value of N62,134,426,199.00.

These seizures include arms, ammunition, illicit drugs, used clothing, vegetable oil, frozen poultry, and foreign rice among others that have grave consequences on the economic security and well being of Nigerians.
While we give our assurances of total commitment to the course of nation-building, we call on Nigerians, especially the business community to support the NCS on the ongoing drive to robustly contribute to National Security and create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive in the country.

Signed:
DC, Joseph Attah
Public Relations Officer
For: Comptroller-General of Customs.