Customs area command generates N3.5bn in three months

By Mosunmola Ayobami, Ilorin

The Comptroller, Customs Area Command, Kwara State, Kehinde Ilesanmi has disclosed that N3.5billion was collected as revenue between January and March this year.

He said a comparative analysis with the preceding year 2022 indicated that the service surpassed revenue collected same period by N779.9million.

Ilesanmi made this disclosure during a press briefing held in Ilorin on Wednesday.

He emphasized that up till now, the land border in Kwara State still remains closed.

The comptroller said the anti-smuggling measures put in place in the Command have yielded astronomical successes of 23 seizures of different items.

These include 873 kegs of petrol of 25liters each which is about 21,825 liters,

six units of used vehicles of different types, 451 bags of foreign parboiled rice (50kg each), 23 bales of second hand clothing and one motorcycle used in smuggling petrol.

He said the cumulative Duty Paid Value (DPV) for all the seizures is N34.7million, which surpasses the DPV of seizures made in the first quarter of last year at N25.6million.

The Customs boss added that in line with their extant laws and Standard Operational Procedure (SOP), most of the inflammable products have been auctioned to the members of the public and the amount generated as fees has been remitted into the government coffers.