Port Harcourt Area 1 Customs generates N21b in six months.

Tayo Oladipupo |

The Port Harcourt Area 1 Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it generated over twenty one billion naira in the first half of 2018.

The figure according to the statement made available to the press by the command’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Ivan Oscar, indicates an increase of over three billion naira above what the command generated within the same period in 2017.

The statement added that the Customs Area Controller (CAC) of the command, Comptroller Isiyaku Kabiru employed many tactics to make sure that maximum revenue accruable to the government is collected at the command.

It further stated that the Controller had frequent engagements with relevant stakeholders as well as organising regular training for officers and men of the command which translated into the high revenue success.

The statement read, “The Port Harcourt 1 Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has defied all odds mitigating against its effective revenue generation by raking in Twenty -One Billion, Seven hundred and Seventy -One thousand, Sixty -Nine naira and fifty kobo (N21,000,771,069.50) from the months of January to June 2018, in contrast to Seventeen Billion, Seven Hundred and Fifty -Seven million, One Hundred and Twelve Thousand, Five Hundred and Thirty- Eight naira, Fifty Kobo (N17,757,112,538,.50) recorded in the same period of 2017.

“The increase in the revenue surplus indicates a value of Three Billion, Two Hundred and Forty- Three Million, Six Hundred and fifty- Eight Thousand, Five Hundred and Thirty- One
Naira. (N3, 243,658,531).

“The Controller is always reaching out and engaging in frequent Consultations with relevant stakeholders, organizing capacity building for the officers in the Command, sending delegations to parley with importers, traders in the South -East and South- South States of the country and assigning officers with requisite knowledge on revenue generation were amongst others, the strategies he employed in tackling most of the revenue drawbacks.

“Speaking further, the Area Comptroller said that the Command has fared well in the generation of The Nigeria Export Supervision Scheme (NESS) with a total value of Two Billion, One Hundred and Seventy -Seven Million, Four Hundred and Thirty- Eight Thousand, Nine Hundred and One Naira, Six Kobo (N2,177,438,901.06) in the period under review as against Eight Hundred and Sixty- Six Million, Nine Hundred and Forty- Two Thousand, Eight Hundred and Seventy- One naira, Thirty -Five Kobo (N866,942,871.35) which was generated in the entre 2017 Fiscal year.

The Area Controller who is also a member of the presidential technical committee on the Ease of Doing Business also said that the compliance rate of the Command on the policy has been very high and his effective Public Relations approach has also contributed in taking the Command from its earlier state of disenchanted business Community, staff low self-esteem, insecurity, economic sabotaging, to a more vibrant, purpose-driven and transformed status.