…Outlines challenges
The Nigeria Customs Service Seme Area Command generated N994, 813,647.06 for the month of October 2016. The Command also made 68 seizures with a Duty Paid Value of N35, 302,957.90. The revenue generated for the month of October exceeded the amount generated in the corresponding year with over N60, 884,291.76.
Customs Watch gathered that the challenges that hampered the smooth collection of revenue in the month of October were:- the malfunctioning of the electrical control cabinet and the electricity generating plant of the scanning machine, the new policy introduced by the Republic of Benin on movement of goods from the ports to their bonded terminals before been transferred to the park, the prevailing high exchange rate (CFA) and the dilapidated nature of the road diversion from the Republic of Benin which has contributed immensely in slowing down economic activities at the border.
Commenting on the revenue figure, the Customs Area Controller, disclosed that the determination to succeed at all cost is paying off, even as he acknowledged that there is room for improvement.
He noted that if the command must dare to be different and remain in total compliance as a change agent, the command must be ready to face criticism and public condemnation among many unpatriotic Nigerians.
He said no amount of criticism, campaign of calumny and unprofessional publications of baseless and unverified news on the pages of newspapers against Seme Command will stop it from working strictly in compliance with the mandate given it. He stated that he will continue to spur his officers and men to put in their modest contribution to actualize the service’s mandate.
It could be recalled that on resumption of the Customs Area Controller on January 13th 2015, he vowed that officers and men of the Command must get it right and have a complete moral rebirth in discharging their statutory obligations. He advocated a high level of discipline, integrity and excellence while discharging their core functions of revenue generation, suppression of smuggling and facilitating legitimate trade.
Source: AUTHORITY
