Economy
Apapa Customs Grows Revenue 29.8% to N790.6bn in Nine Months
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Apapa Area Command, has generated N790.6 billion between January and September 2022.
This was disclosed by Comptroller Malanta Yusuf, the command’s Area Controller in Lagos, noting that this represents a 29.8 per cent increment when compared with N609 billion collected in the corresponding period of 2021
“This remarkable achievement was made possible because of our officers’ tireless commitment to ensuring that all revenue leakages are being mitigated.
“This is as well as sustaining the level of compliance by the importers/stakeholders in the clearance value chain,” he said.
On anti-smuggling, Mr Yusuf noted that anti-smuggling activities had been one of the command’s focal points, especially with the activities of some unrepentant traders who are always looking for avenues to undermine our system.
He said that the command had fortified its forensic manifest management to monitor and detect fraudulent transactions through audit trail to ensure that illicit trade is being tracked before the declarations are lodged.
“Furthermore, the enforcement unit has been reinforced through improved collaboration and sharing of credible intelligence with relevant government agencies to suppress smuggling activities to its barest minimum.
“For the period under review, the command recorded 145 seizures of various items with a duty paid value (DPV) of N12,496,672,122.
“The seized items include unregistered medicaments such as tramadol and codeine, processed/unprocessed wood, used clothing, ladies men’s footwear, foreign parboiled rice, tomato paste, vegetable oil and other sundry items that fall under import/export prohibition list,” he said.
Mr Yusuf said that these importations were in clear breach of sections 46 and 47 of the Customs and Excise Management Act, CEMA CAP C45 LFN 2004.
“Let me reemphasise that Apapa Command is continuously ready to assist in facilitating legitimate trade.
“The command will ensure that all forms of smuggling activities through a false declaration on import/export done in defiance to extant trade guidelines will be detected through its layers of control mechanism,” he said.
He said that the command had made a tremendous increase as regards export in terms of tonnage and value.
Mr Yusuf said that it recorded about N181 billion value of export and 160 million tonnes of various items of export.
He urged stakeholders to collaborate with the command, ensure that items on the import/export prohibition list are strictly adhered to, and embrace the emerging realities of customs examination through a non-intrusive inspection (NII) regime.
“The non-intrusive inspection regime is geared toward increasing cargo inspection volume, protecting national security, saving cost/clearing time, and storing reliable data and images for reference purposes.
“It helps in reducing human contact in the examination of containerised cargo,” he said.
On the installed scanners, he said that the command had resolved the issue of how many containers shipping companies would bring per day, having requested for at least 150 containers, but shipping companies agreed on 100 containers.
“For the suspect one, we promised to do a recheck of 30 containers per day, and it was accepted and subject to improvement as the system is being fine-tuned.
“Initially, we were having a downtime of about 30 minutes gap for bringing containers to the scanning area and back to the stacking area, but now we have 15 minutes downtime.
“For the backlog, we work Saturday and Sunday to clear it before next week starts,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices settled about 1 per cent lower on Thursday even as the Iran war escalated, with the Middle East oil producer asking Yemen’s Houthi movement to be prepared to close the Red Sea oil export route.
Brent crude futures fell by 72 cents or about 0.9 per cent to trade at $84.23 a barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures depreciated by 65 cents or 0.8 per cent to close at $78.95 a barrel.
Iran has instructed Yemen’s Houthi movement to stand ready to close the Bab el-Mandeb strait, the vital gateway to the Red Sea, if the US follows through on threats to strike Iranian power infrastructure.
Market analysts warned that with the Strait of Hormuz already closed, the latest threat raises the serious risk of both of the Middle East’s primary oil export routes being disrupted at the same time.
About 7.4 million barrels of petroleum transited Bab el-Mandeb per day in June, about 7 per cent of global oil output, according to Kpler data, up from 4.2 million barrels per day last year.
This week, US President Donald Trump repeated oft-stated threats to strike Iranian power plants and bridges.
According to senior Iranian sources, the Islamic Republic’s leadership has discussed the idea with Iran’s Houthi allies, with the rebel forces now awaiting definitive orders to begin targeting maritime traffic.
In a sign of escalating tensions in the region, the Houthis fired missiles at Saudi Arabia after accusing the kingdom of bombing an airport under their control on Monday, breaking a four-year truce in the conflict between the kingdom and the group.
This comes as Saudi Arabia is currently evaluating a massive infrastructure expansion to permanently upgrade the capacity of its western pipeline and terminal networks.
Any additional disruptions could force international shipping firms to redirect vessels around Africa, inflating transit costs and worsening the global energy crisis.
On Wednesday, the US struck Iran’s coastal defences and missile sites after reimposing a naval blockade of its ports, while the two countries exchanged intensified fire on Thursday, which kept pressure on prices upward.
However, weighing on prices was Iran’s release of a US citizen, which could point toward a path to avert the resumption of all-out war.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has launched a new digital platform to track every foreign exchange transaction involving Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators, marking a major step in its efforts to improve transparency and strengthen oversight of the country’s retail forex market.
In an operational guidance issued on July 15 to authorised dealer banks and licensed BDCs, the apex bank introduced the FX BDC Purchase Tracker (FXBT), a centralised electronic portal designed to monitor foreign exchange purchases by BDCs from the point of request through approval, settlement and eventual sale.
The CBN said the portal will require BDCs to upload real-time or same-day data on all FX purchases made through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), giving the regulator transaction-level visibility across the retail FX market.
According to the bank, the platform is designed to prevent abuse by making it easier to detect operators attempting to exceed the weekly purchase limit of $150,000, obtain allocations from multiple banks or divert foreign exchange outside approved channels.
The launch of the tracker builds on the CBN’s February policy that restored direct access for licensed BDCs to purchase foreign exchange from authorised dealer banks through the NFEM. While that policy improved access to official FX, the new platform provides the digital infrastructure to monitor how the funds are used.
Under the new framework, authorised dealer banks must conduct comprehensive Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and customer due diligence checks before selling foreign exchange to any BDC.
The new guideline also says banks must verify beneficial ownership information, retain incorporation documents and carry out enhanced due diligence for higher-risk operators. Any BDC that fails these checks will not be allowed to access official foreign exchange.
The guidance also requires banks to acknowledge BDC purchase requests submitted through the FXBT portal within two business hours and immediately notify operators whether their requests have been approved or rejected.
To discourage speculation, the CBN directed that any forex purchased through the NFEM but left unused must be sold back into the market within 24 hours after the expiration of the utilisation period. BDCs are also required to disclose any previously unused balances when submitting fresh requests.
In addition, all foreign exchange transactions between banks, BDCs and customers must be settled through registered accounts with licensed financial institutions. Third-party transactions are prohibited, and any transfer outside a BDC’s registered settlement account will be treated as a regulatory violation.
The apex bank also said all authorised dealer banks and licensed BDCs are expected to comply with the new regulatory guidance and operational procedures with immediate effect.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The chief executive of HBM Nigeria Plc (formerly Lafarge Africa), Mr Lolu Alade-Akinyemi, said the cement producer is expected to add 4.5 million tonnes to its production capacity by January 2027.
HBM Nigeria Plc is positioning itself for stronger long-term competitiveness, market leadership and job creation as it accelerates expansion projects.
The transition to HBM Nigeria marks a new phase of growth, driven by operational excellence, sustainability, innovation, and infrastructure development, while maintaining its long-standing commitment to Nigeria’s construction sector.
Mr Alade-Akinyemi, speaking recently in Lagos, said the ongoing expansion of the company’s Ashaka and Sagamu plants would significantly boost local production, create employment opportunities, and support businesses across its value chain.
“We recently announced the expansion of the Sagamu plant in Ogun State and the Ashaka plant in Gombe State. Hopefully, in January 2027, we will commission both plants, adding 4.5 million tonnes to our capacity. Traditionally, building a new plant takes about three years, but this is one of the benefits of belonging to the Huaxin Group,” he said.
According to him, the projects will generate employment, create opportunities for young people and women, strengthen local suppliers and contractors, and contribute further to Nigeria’s economic growth.
“There are many vacancies we are trying to fill in Sagamu and Ashaka. Beyond direct employment, we are creating opportunities for small businesses, developing suppliers and supporting local contractors. This is an exciting period because it will deliver significant benefits to Nigeria,” he said.
Mr Alade-Akinyemi noted that while the company’s corporate identity had changed following its acquisition by Huaxin Building Materials Group, its core values and commitment to customers, host communities, employees and shareholders remain unchanged.
He said HBM Nigeria traces its roots to 1959 as West African Portland Cement Company (WAPCO), with its first cement plant commencing operations in Ewekoro, Ogun State, in 1961.
Since then, he said, the company has grown into one of Nigeria’s leading building solutions providers with integrated plants in Ewekoro, Sagamu, Ashaka and Mfamosing.
He added that the company, which became publicly listed in 1979, has continued to expand through acquisitions and transformation while maintaining high product quality, innovation and responsible operations.
Highlighting the strengths of its parent company, Alade-Akinyemi described Huaxin Building Materials as a globally recognised building materials manufacturer founded in 1907 and headquartered in Wuhan, China, with operations across 16 regions in China and 14 countries worldwide.
He said Huaxin’s engineering expertise and focus on research and development would strengthen HBM Nigeria’s operations and help close engineering skills gaps in the country.
“As HBM Nigeria, we are strategically positioned for long-term competitiveness and stronger market leadership while reinforcing our commitment to supporting Nigeria’s infrastructure development and economic progress after more than six decades of industry leadership,” he said.
He also said sustainability would remain central to the company’s operations, noting that it had introduced lower-carbon products and continued to invest in environmentally friendly production processes.
