By Elizabeth Toyon & Maria Yusuf
The House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise has commended the Apapa Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) for generating N753.8 billion as first quarter revenue of 2025 which is N205 billion higher than the N489 billion collected at the same period of 2024.
The Area Controller of the Command, Comptroller Babatunde Olomu disclosed the achievement to the House of Representatives Committee on Customs during an oversight visit to the Command on 9th April ,2025.
Comptroller Olomu announced that the command achieved a daily record-breaking revenue collection of N18.9b on Friday, March 14, 2025, which stands out as the highest in the 135-year history of the service.He noted that the new record breaks the existing highest daily collection of N18.2b which was achieved in October 2024 by the command.
According to him, the successes of compliance, revenue collection, and anti-smuggling are fallouts of collaborations where intelligence is gathered processed and deployed for national economic interest and security.
Olomu said the command is playing a critical role in the service modernization agenda, especially on the implementation of the Unified Customs Management System (B’Odogwu) and that between January 2025 to date, the Command has recorded 9 seizures out of which five were unregistered pharmaceuticals smuggled into the country.
He urged the committee to interface with other government stakeholders regulating terminal operators like Eko Support, ENL, and APM Terminals on the need for them to upgrade their working equipment in line with the concession agreements signed with the Federal Government. He said if properly looked into, this has the potential of facilitating rade and in the long run, increasing the revenue generating capacity of the NCS.
He also identified Poor management of the electronic truck call-up system (ETO’O) which almost caused industrial crises but for the intervention of the Comptroller General of Customs , Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, who directed that he meet with the leadership of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) on two separate occasions to avert a strike action/shut down of the port.
The NCS Apapa Area Command Controller added that customs modernization cannot succeed in isolation as it is important that other government and private sector stakeholders move with the tide to upgrade their level of automation and catch up.
He emphasised that one of the key challenges facing the command is the shortage of scanning machines and essential technological equipment.
Having listed the challenges facing the command, Comptroller Olomu recommended that there should be a legislation towards the procurement of more scanners at the ports and border stations to facilitate cargo clearance, good road network to reduce congestion and improve the flow of goods, increase in budgetary allocation to procure cargo tracking devices and advance surveillance technologies, such as drones, will help curb smuggling activities and cargo diversion and regulating terminal operators like APMT, ENL, Eko Support and off dock terminals to invest in modern equipment to enhance operational efficiency, reduce cargo handling time and improve overall service delivery.
“The Apapa Customs Area Command domiciled at the premier port plays a vital role in Nigeria’s economy, facilitating trade and ensuring the enforcement of regulations related to imports and exports.This command oversees customs activities with the capacity to handle the highest volume of trade not only in Nigeria but also in the West and Central Africa sub region.
“Over 70 percent of customs revenue collection in Nigeria is attributed to Lagos ports, and Apapa command is responsible for about 50 percent of the collections. Therefore, the command has been instrumental in enhancing the ease of doing business in Nigeria by improving customs clearance processes, reducing delays in cargo clearance, and leveraging technology through the use of ICT and fast- track.
“Under the guidance and effective supervision of our CGC, we are optimistic about surpassing last year’s total collection as evident in our first quarter report. May I also state that the CGC is directly instrumental to our successes in terms of productivity.
“Nevertheless, the Nigeria Customs service Management is driving a modern and paperless system and here in Apapa we are gearing up to migrate from the old system to a new system while maximizing the benefits of what we have presently. Our ICT officers are always on ground to deliver efficient service and find solutions whenever there are glitches because we are conscious of how delays slow down progress, so we opt to avoid them.
“Our cargo examination process is a hybrid involving non-intrusive and physical examination when and where necessary.Just last week, we achieved a breakthrough by issuing the first Pre Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) under the B’Odogwu regime. This is a significant milestone in the service journey towards an ICT backbone that is indigenous and sustainable for modern customs management in Nigeria.
“The command made a seizure of over 100,000 bottles of expired codeine-containing cough syrup loaded in four containers. These seizures have disrupted the supply chain of dangerous drugs in the country.Similarly, we made a substantially seizure of frozen poultry products such as Turkey and Chicken wings imported via a containerized cargo from Türkiye.
“Some suspects arrested in connection with these seizures are at various stages of investigation, prosecution, and conviction either with the service or with other government agencies saddled with the responsibility of handling their cases. These unwholesome drugs and foods could have endangered the lives of Nigerians by sending unsuspecting consumers to early graves if not for our timely detection at this point of entry.
” The lack of adequate scanning machines hampers the efficiency of cargo inspections, leading to delays in processing shipment. Scanning machines play a critical role in non-intrusive inspection, allowing customs officials to quickly detect contraband, undeclared goods, or hazardous materials without manually opening the container.
In response, the Chairman of the committee, Leke Abejide, said the committee aims at ensuring effective implementation of customs policies, and promoting revenue generation.
The committee, comprising selected members out of 84 House of Representatives members, emphasized the need for synergy between the NCS, shipping lines, terminal operators, and other stakeholders to improve port operations.
On challenges highlighted by Comptroller Olomu, faced by the command including inadequate infrastructure and potential revenue leakage, he pledged to address these issues and also noted that the service generated N3 trillion last year and expects this figure to double by December.
