Comptroller Mohammed Gidado

Esther Komolafe

Amidst all hassles, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, garnered in N1.6 billion in the month of October 2022 alone.

This was was contained in a statement issued to the media recently by the Controller in charge of the Command ,Comptroller Mohammed Gidado, in Lagos through the command’s public relations officer Superintendent Juliana Tomo.

According to Gidado, the command recorded success in revenue collection and trade facilitation, and there was no incidence of smuggling activities through the airport within the period under review. The CAC affirmed that since his deployment and resumption in Aug. 15 2022 , the command had been successful in its core values, including suppression of smuggling, revenue collection and trade facilitation.

The Comptroller noted that there has also been a gradual increase in the revenue collection drive of the command. “To be specific, in October, we collected the total sum of N1. 6billion. According to the statement, the sum of N982.6 million was the revenue collected from import duty. Gidado stressed that this was a remarkable revenue collection after the COVID 19 lock down that placed restrictions on travellers and a drop in importation, coupled with the inflation on exchange rate.

He said that the command facilitated the formal export of locally-manufactured goods (although in low volume, due to the peculiarity of the Command as airport terminals) to the tune of N1.9 million.

“This achievement was through due diligence with the application of extant laws such as Sections 72 and 145 of the Customs and Excise Management Act CAP C45 Law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 2004 (CEMA CAP C45 LFR 2004),”.

He pleadged that the command would continue to pursue its mandate of trade facilitation and collection of revenue as well as suppressing smuggling within its jurisdiction. He promised that they would ensure an efficient and friendlier travel clearance procedure ahead of the end of the year festive season.

In his words:, “We assure all voluntary compliance persons a good travel experience in the clearance of their shipment,” he concluded.