By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The sum of N994.8 million was generated in the month of October 2016 by the Seme Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
During the period, the command also made 68 various seizures with a Duty Paid Value of N35 million.
Public Relations officer of the command, Mr Taupyen Salechang, said in a statement on Wednesday that the revenue generated for the month of October exceeded the amount generated in the corresponding year with over N60.8 million.
In the statement, Mr Salechang quoted Controller of the command, Mr Victor Dimka to have attributed this to the cooperation of stakeholders.
He said despite the difficult times and policy changes, the stakeholders still comply and cooperate with the command in doing legitimate business in line with the government policies, adding that it is only through compliance to guidelines and procedures that infractions are avoided and the Service core mandate realised.
Mr Dimka identified some of the challenges that hampered the smooth revenue collection in the period under review to include the malfunctioning of the Electrical Control Cabinet and the Electricity Generating Plant of the Scanning Machine and the new policy introduced by the Republic of Benin on movement of goods from the ports to their Bonded Terminals before been transferred to the park.
He noted that there was room for improvement to surpass the amount generated and said he will continue to spur his officers and men to intensify more efforts towards suppression of smuggling and generating maximum revenue in an atmosphere of peace that will facilitate legitimate trade across the frontier.
Adedapo Adesanya