CAC, Seme Customs Command with Heads of other sister agencies operating at the Seme Border
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Nigeria Customs Service, Seme Area Command has collected the sum of Six billion, two hundred and ninety four million, eight hundred and sixty thousand, one hundred and eighty two Naira ninety eight Kobo only (N6,294,860,182.98) for the period under review which represents about 76% of the revenue target allocated to the command, public relation officer, Saidu Abdullahi has said in Lagos. The command also made a total of 1,119 seizures with a duty paid value (DPV) of One billion, three hundred and ninety four million, one hundred and thirty six thousand and twenty three Naira only (N1,394,136,023.00)in the year 2018.
The seizures include 37,568 bags of foreign rice worth N876m, vegetable oil worth N14m, 169 assorted vehicles worth N368m, bags of sugar worth N6.6m and general merchandise worth N101m. Others include poultry products worth N21m, used tyres worth N768, 600 and petroleum products worth N217,470; 119 parcels of hard drugs/Narcotics: all successfully handed over to NDLEA.
“It will delight you to know that one of the suspects Kenneth Cornelius, who was transferred to the NDLEA Seme Command in August 2018, has been imprisoned for a term of 2 years for unlawful possession of 7kg of Cannabis Sativa. The Grand Total for both seizures and revenue is N9, 24bn, Abdullahi said.
Furthermore, the command’s units also recorded tremendous achievements which have contributed to the command’s success recorded within the period under review.
Mr Abdullahi added that the Command’s boss, Comptroller Mohammed Uba while commenting on the revenue generated disclosed that the revenue realized is a product of sustained compliance by stakeholders and commitment of the customs officers in the discharge of their duties. He restated that this laudable feat was achieved despite the daunting challenge of low importation through the border.
CAC, Seme Customs Command with top officers of Seme Customs Command
The Controller reaffirmed his stand in fighting smuggling to a standstill, as the anti-smuggling unit is deploying a lot of strategies to meet up with the dynamics of smuggling antics that are adopted by the economic saboteurs on daily basis either through approved or illegal routes. He also stated that the command will always work relentlessly to ensure that all revenue leakages are blocked and stakeholders who are ready to comply with proper procedures and guidelines are adequately sensitized to take advantage of the legitimate process in their transactions.
He affirmed the command’s readiness to explore all avenues in order to ensure that the new target for the year is not only met but exceeded with the inauguration and resumption of operations at the new Joint border post.
The Customs Area Controller reiterated his commitment to continue sanitizing the border command to meet with other international standards. He further warned officers and men of the command not to compromise, but should be committed to the implementation of government fiscal policies. He also acknowledged the ethical and administrative support from the Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (Rtd) and his Management team; he equally extend his appreciation to all sister agencies both locally and internationally.
The Area Controller assures the public that the Command remains undaunted and cannot be deterred in performing her statutory responsibility no matter the challenge.