The Customs Area Controller of the Lagos Free Zone Command, Comptroller Olanrewaju Olumoh has assured of improvement in the revenue collection while also prioritizing stakeholders engagement
Olumoh who disclosed this at the Lekki Free Zone during his maiden enlarged stakeholders engagement also said the command has collected a total of N115,975,888,175 this year
The Controller while commending his predecessor said the initial revenue target given to the Free Zone was N108,842,517,983.31K, before it was reviewed to N136,053,147,479.14K for year 2024.
He said the Command has generated N41,301,307,159.00 from the Free Zone in 2024 as against the N24,704,793,171 collected same period in 2023 which shows an increase of N16,596,513,918 representing 67% difference
Olumoh said “I was amazed by the performance of my predecessor and I had since promised to improve on what was on ground. Then I embarked on courtesy visits to all the Free Zones under the Command including the Lekki Port.
“I also had series of meetings with stakeholders to seek for their cooperation and collaboration in line with the Comptroller General of Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi policy thrust of consolidation, innovation and collaboration. The fallout from these visits necessitated the meeting today where we shall reveal our achievements so far and discuss matters that will improve operations in the Free Zones under the Command.
“Let me use this opportunity to inform you all that the initial revenue target given to the Free Zone is N108,842,517,983.31K, before it was reviewed to N136,053,147,479.14K for year 2024. I am pleased to announced that from January 2024 till date, the Command has generated the sum of N41,301,307,159.00 from the Free Zone as against the N24,704,793,171 collected same period in year 2023. This shows an increase of N16,596,513,918 which represent 67% to what was collected in 2023.
“Similarly, an initial revenue target of N6,610,480,707.50K was reviewed to N8,263,100,884.37K for the Lekki Port. From January till date, the sum of N74,674,581,016 was generated as revenue from the Port.
“Cumulatively, from January till date, the total revenue generated in the Command is put at N115,975,888,175.00, only. We look forward to continuous rise in revenue generation in the coming months and we are optimistic that we would meet and surpass the annual target by the end of the year” he said.
The Controller added that the command will not deviate from the specified areas of thrusts for establishment of the free zone which include attracting foreign investments, promoting technology transfer and creating more job opportunities.
He said “Stakeholder engagement is not just about communication, it is about building relationships based on trust, transparency and mutual understanding. We want to operate an open-door policy in which we can entertain meaningful contributions to move the Command forward. We will accommodate questions and observations where the enterprises have grey concerns with a view to proffering possible solutions and we will also discuss areas where the Command observed the enterprises needs to improve on”
