Economy
Onne Command of Customs Generates N249bn in Five Months
By Bon Peters
The Port Harcourt Area 11 Command, Onne Rivers State of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has generated over N249 billion as revenue from January to May 2024.
The Customs Area Controller (CAC) for the command, Comptroller Mohammed Babandede, while addressing newsmen, disclosed that his men also seized six containers of contraband goods worth over N3 billion within the period under review.
“On assumption of office, I embarked on courtesy visits to Bonded Terminals, various sister agencies and had series of meetings with stakeholders to seek for their cooperation in terms of collaboration, synergy and information sharing, in line with the Controller General of Customs, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, policy thrust of consolidation, collaboration and innovation.”
“The command was initially given a target of N494 billion before it was reviewed two weeks ago to N618 billion as revenue target for the year 2024,” he stated further, adding that, “As of the end of May 2024, the command had generated a total revenue of N249.8 billion, which translate to 50.4 per cent of the initial target and 40.3 per cent of the current annual target.”
He noted that the command had an increase in revenue generation of N153.2 billion when compared with the preceding year, positing that this achievement occurred despite the nationwide strike embarked upon by the organised labour unions and holidays.
He insisted that the command looked forward to continuing the rise in revenue generation in the coming months and was optimistic that it would surpass the annual target by the end of the year.
On anti-smuggling activities, Mr Babandede, said, “We have on display six seized containers for violations or contraventions of various customs laws and breach of procedures as provided under the revised import prohibition guidelines of the Common External Tariff 2022-2026, as well as Sections 233, 234, 235, 245, 246 of Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023.”
“Also, today we have on display a seized Container of used electronics which has turned to e-waste. As you are aware of the environmental effect such waste pose to human lives, for the purpose of disposal we shall be working with the National Environmental Standards and Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA) in the spirit of inter-agency cooperation, synergy and in line with section 119 & 245 of the NCS Act 2023.”
“The content of these importations contravenes the provision of the law which prohibits and restricts certain goods for the protection of the public health and safety. Put together, the total Duty Paid Value of the 7 seized containers stands at N3.2 billion,” he added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
