The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has beaten its 2024 revenue target of N5.07 trillion, generating a whooping sum of N5.08 trillion in ten months, two months before the end of the fiscal year.
Acting Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, stated this at the 2024 CGC’s Annual Conference theme, ‘Nigeria Customs Service: Engaging Traditional and New Partners with Purpose’.
The revenue target of the Customs for this year is N5.07 trillion; however, the benchmark was reached in 10 months, as the agency has already collected N5,079,455,088,194.38.
Daily Independent reports is possible with seizures valued at N28.1 billion in 10 months, compromising the illicit trade in arms, narcotics, pharmaceuticals and wildlife items.
In his remarks, CGC Adeniyi said, “This exceptional performance projected to exceed our target by 10 per cent validates our partnership-driven approach to revenue collection and trade facilitation.
“The scale of our intervention is reflected in seizures valued at NGN 28.1 billion and counting in 2024 alone.
“These seizures span critical areas of national concern – from wildlife items and arms and ammunition to narcotics and pharmaceutical products.
“An important moment in our enforcement strategy was the declaration of a state of emergency at our major ports, which led to the interception of 48 containers of illicit pharmaceutical items and narcotics, significantly disrupting the flow of potentially harmful products,” he said.
President Bola Tinubu, special guest at the occasion, in his opening address, applauded the service for its remarkable progress in aligning with the current administration’s economic transformation agenda, especially through revenue generation, trade facilitation, and modernisation initiatives.
Represented by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, he highlighted the government’s efforts to boost Nigeria’s global trade presence, noting a surge in foreign direct investments, exceeding $30 billion over the past year.