Presidential Elections, Holidays Forced Down Apapa Customs Revenue to N27.5billion

By ZION Olalekan

The Apapa Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has said that numerous holidays in the month of February as well as the presidential elections forced its revenue for the month down to N27,524,754,586.

The Public Relations Officer of the command, Nkiru Nwala told Nigeriamaritime360.com that the command is sensitizing the various stakeholders in the command on the need to ensure wilful compliance and not wait until they are compelled.

She said the service is yet to allocate revenue target to the commands as to what they should collect monthly or yearly.

Aside from revenue generation, she said the Command has also repositioned its internal capacity building structure for officers, to ensure optimum productivity in trade facilitation and anti-smuggling drive.

This internal training she said has greatly enhanced operational efficiency of the men and officers of the Command, even as it ensures discipline at work.

Speaking on the command’s revenue she said “We have days of elections and other public holidays, in the month of January we had many holidays, it was also a short month.

“The only challenge we have now is trying to get total compliance from our stakeholders; we need them to comply willingly and not the one that we had to compel them, so we have been engaging them in conversations to make them understand why they should comply.

“We have been having stakeholders’ meetings continuously, bringing all the stakeholders together is a different strategy”

Nkiru said the Customs Area Controller, Compt Bashir Abubakar has been meeting stakeholders in groups, including terminal operators, shipping lines, associations including Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents.

According to her, the command may no longer meet all the stakeholders together under one umbrella because they don’t have the same role to play and the same challenges.

“We have been getting feedbacks with which we attend to their peculiar needs, even with sister agencies working at the port, we have also visited some of them in their comfort zones, from January till date, we have met more than six groups, and we are now working on communique and resolutions reached.

“The strategy has helped beautifully, our Comptroller is a man that is result oriented, he follows through, not just that, we are going to test run these solutions that were proffered.

“Not that we are stopping the general meeting entirely, but we cannot be doing the same thing and expect different result”.

She disclosed that from January till date, the command is now at the level of implementation and test running of solutions proffered by stakeholders, get feedback and communicate with the groups in another meeting.

Meanwhile, the Apapa Customs boss was on Wednesday bestowed a Maritime Integrity Award by Maritime Media Limited.

The event brought together officers and men of the Zone A command of the customs led by Assistant comptroller General and zonal coordinator Mrs. Kacee Ekekezie.

Mrs. Ekekezie who was on hand to present the plaque of honour to comptroller Bashir Abubakar expressed appreciation to maritime media limited for the recognition of the award recipient.

She commended Comptroller Abubakar for his exemplary character which she described as worthy of emulation.

Managing director/ CEO of maritime media limited, organisers of the event, Elder Asu. Beks in his speech commended comptroller Bashir Abubakar for his integrity and uncommon patriotism to his fatherland.

He congratulated the Award recipient for his outstanding performance. “As a team player and one who is stickler for due process the rejection of 420,000 USD last year only goes to prove his undying passion for an uncommon patriotism for his fatherland”.

Coordinator National strike force , Nigeria customs, Abdulahi Kirawa in his vote of thanks expressed delight that he is proud to be associated with the honesty and integrity display by comptroller Bashir Abubakar.