Customs Zone A generates N698b, targets N887b by year end

With a total revenue of N698 billion already in its kitty from January to October, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Zone A, Lagos, says it is on course and working tirelessly to achieve the target of N887 billion set for it by the agency by the end of December, 2017. Giving this disclosure in Lagos Tuesday, the Assistant Comptroller-General, Zone A, Mr. Aminu Dahiru, said the revenue generated so far was an increase of N105 billion compared to the N593 billion generated over the same period last year. Optimistic of achieving the headquarters’ projected revenue for the area, Dahiru said: “So far so good, we have achieved 78.72 per cent of the revenue figure. This is made possible by the commitment of the personnel to duty and concrete measures taken to ensure diligence in collecting revenue due to government.” More so, the zone has intensified efforts to implement the process, aware that “dare-devil smugglers could be brutal and deadly in their operations.” Therefore, the zone is battle-ready to diligently discharge its constitutional responsibilities. According to him, “facilitating legitimate trade is one of the core mandates of the service and we are exploring all legitimate means to improve the system to the benefit of the country.” Nevertheless, he called for support from stakeholders, including religious leaders and traditional rulers, to help with awareness creation on the negative consequences of smuggling, including the possibility of death in armed confrontation, economic sabotage and consumption of adulterated, expired or dangerous goods, among others.