Customs Laments Drop in Revenue Generation in Oyo-Osun Command

Ademola Babalola in Ibadan

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Oyo/Osun Area Command has lamented the drastic drop in the estimated revenue generation for the first half of 2016.

The customs Area Comptroller Mr. Temitope Ogunkua, made this revelation while addressing journalists at the command’s headquarters in Ibadan.

Ogunkua, who said his command so far generated a total of N7,245,680,587.69 as its total revenue for the first half of this year, however regretted that the revenue when compared to the period between January to June, 2015, there was a shortfall of N345,830,989.81.

He linked the development to some factors like government fiscal policies as the high exchange rate, ban on importation of rice through the border areas, general economic down turn which led to the low sales on the part of the major excise factories within the command like the Britiah American Tobacco, Nigerian Breweries and International Breweries and an general insecurity in the land.

The Area Comptroller while giving a breakdown of the anti-smuggling activities of the command, said: “It is worthy of note to report that a total of 948 vehicles paid duty to the tune of N156,258,222.00 within the period under review.

Ogunkua also informed that a total of 119 seizures with the duty paid value of N240,317,865.08 was also made from January to June this year.

He said: “The command looks forward to unprecedented performance in the second half of the year, re-strategising various diversification in intelligence gathering and utilisation, application of diplomacy in an to-smuggling especially in volatile border areas etc will enable the command to constitency build on both revenue and anti-smuggling feats”.