By Stephen Ubanna
More facts have emerged why Compt. Bisis Alade, Area Controller, Ogun II, Command of the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, with Headquarters in Abeokuta, Capital of Ogun, former President Olusegun Obanjo home state is making a headway in overseeing the operations of excise factories, described as Authorized Economic Partners, AEOs, in Customs Circles over the years.
This is because the Customs Comptroller, who has a Public Relations and Legal background appears to have used the experience garnered over the years to effectively implement the mandate of Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, the Customs Comptroller General, in the Coordination of the activities of all excise factories, described as Authorized Economic Operators AEO, in Customs circles and collection of excise duties on factory manufactured products based on the use of the unit –cost analysis of data provided by the operators.
Given the mandate of the Customs Comptroller General, the Ogun II, Area Controller, has left no one in doubt that he deliver as he has effectively used the Command monitoring team officers deployed to the excise factories scattered all over the southwestern state to enforce the country ‘s excise Laws and Regulations . This is in addition to implementing the industrial incentives like Duty Draaw Back, Manufacture Bond Schemes, among others with the collaboration of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, NEPC, and Export Processing Zone , EPZ, in the former President Obasanjo home state.
This may have informed why the Customs Comptroller in the last six months had worked assiduously to ensure that the monthly excise revenue projections that had been prepared by the service Tariff and Trade, popula, T&T and Industrial Incentives Division are met an even surpassed. This evident going by the Command revenue generation between September and October, 2023. The Ogun Customs Command which had witnessed a change of Baton in early September 2023, following the deployment of Compt. Shuaibu Ahmadou Bello, then Area Controller , who was deployed to Ogun I, Idiroko, where he is giving smugglers sleepless nights, was said to have generated and paid into the Federation Account about N4.3 billion.
Efforts to get the target that had been set for the Command in 2024, going by its impressive performance in 2023, did not materialize. But an insider disclosed that the Command’s revenue generation in January , 2024, was very encouraging as Compt. Alade had tightened all areas of revenue leakage used by the exchange factory operators to shortchange the government in the past. This may have informed why the Ogun II, Customs boss have not seen any defaulting excise Factories in the recent time to be issued Demand Notice, DN.
Mny believe that Compt. Alade, could make an appreciable impact in the Ogun II, Command, in the last six months because he had sustained the structure he had met on ground for continuity, by ensuring that the officers are well motivated given the backing from the Customs Comptroller which was said to have boosted their morale and kept them in high spirit to do their job at the excise Factories without compromise.
Compt. Alade, who looks calm, may have sent a message to the excise Factory operators from the onset that he will run an open door Administration, urging companies that have issues that needed his attention to settle to forward such complaints to him. He did not stop there. He was said to have sustained the regular parleys with the excise Factories operators to acquaint them with the various government policies in order to cue into it and do the right thing.
There are fears that the Ogun II, Command and other Customs Command overseeing excise Factories operations across the country may not be able to meet their 2024, revenue target because the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration, NAFDAC, under the close watch of Mojisola Adeyeye, a Professor at the instance of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has banned the production and sale of sachets and 200ml, PET bottle of dry gin believed to be in high demand in Nigerian markets.
Take for instance in Ogun, home state of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, where much of the 25 excise Factories manufacturing dry gins in sachets, 200ml Pet bottles and big –size bottles are located, there are hardly any bus stops in the Ogun state Commercial town and its environs where these sachets and 200ml PET bottles are not sold. The situation is not different from Lagos, the nation’s Financial and Commercial Capital and other major cities in the most populous African country.
Although, the Leadership of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, had protested against the ban on the production and sale of the sachets and 200ml PET dry gin bottles across the country on the ground that excise Factories had made an investment of over N800 billion to change their production line machines to manufacture the sachets and 200ml PET bottles of dry gin but that was how far they could go .
The worry of many was that the ban on the production and sale of the sachets and PET bottles of the dry gins by the incensed excise Factories would also amount to the rehabilitation of the local and multinational companies which through thick and thin over the years have kept faith with the country’s economy over the years that they have paid excise duties into government coffers as at when do.
Compt. Alade, Area Controller, Ogun II, may have gladdened the heart of Nigerians as a officer on ground in the state where much of the excise Factories manufacturing sachets and 200 ml PET bottles are located when he declared that it will not have any negative impact on the Command monthly excise duties generation.
The Customs Comptroller is optimistic that the distilleries Companies would still change their production lines to manufacture big size dry gin bottles to remain in business without affecting their excise duty duties payment into government coffers.
The excise Factories labelled as Authorized Economic Operator, AEO, An AEO, for being involved in the international movement of good s as approved by the NCS, Management team on grounds that the companies have complied with the World Customs Organisation, WCO, or equivalent supply chain security standards may not want to lose their markty in Nigeria.
The AEOs, which include Manufacturers, importers, exporters, brokers, carriers, consolidators, intermediaries, ports, airports, terminal operators, integrated operators, warehouses and distributors may have cued into the government policy.
The Nigerian government had approved several operational incentives for the AEOs across the country including the excise Factories operating at the Free Trade Zone, FTZ, Areas, across the country including the much talked about Gungdong FTZ, at Sango Ota, Ogun state. The excise Factory operators, the online Magazine also learnt benefits from the government tax, free fiscal duty for imported raw materials, machinery and equipment incentives which should serve as a big relief to the companies, the distilleries companies.
A document obtained at the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, NEPC, in Lagos , the nation’s Financial and Commercial nerve centre gave an insight to export incentive like financial grants which gives the companies room to expand more easily, cost of production and financial support to facilitate the Companies greater and market penetration. This may have informed why the NEPC is currently administering the country’s Export Development Fund and Export Expansion grant.
Until NAFDAC, took the bold initiative to ban the production d sale of sachets and 200Ml PET dry gin, there were about 56 excise Factories including the distillery Companies in Ogun state but only 36 of such factories are currently operational .Recall that a at May 2023, 11 of such excise Factories were still undergoing documentation process at the Customs Headquarters while ten had remained moribund till date due to the high exchange rate of the naira to the North American country of the United States , US, dollar. This is in addition to the exemption from payment levies and export incentives to help the Companies manufacturing for the local and export market in keeping their products competitive.
There is no gain saying the fact that the Ogun II, Command Authorities continuous deployment of intelligence gathering in its operations in the Obasanjo home state has forced some local distilleries Companies operating in one bed room, two or three bedrooms to wound up business to avoid playing into Compt. Alade’s hands
Compt. Alade. led Ogun II, Command Management team which had beamed its searchlight on the excise Factories in the south west Ogun state were said to have uncovered some unlicensed excise Factories which are currently under different stages of processing their registration documents to operate freely in the state.
One of such companies, the Value News was informed was Glamour Foods and Consult Nig. Limited. Another of such unlicensed excise Factory was Abraham and Sarah Beverages, Nigeria Limited. This is in addition to Cafro Group of Company, Sprout and Kings Nigeria Ltd. There are indications that some other Companies which are yet to obtain the excise Factory License had on their own applied to the Customs Headquarters at Abuja, the FCT, to be issued operating License
The Companies may have been encouraged to do so because of the information the Customs Area Controller had volunteered when he concluded a three phase recent tour of the excise Factories and the Two FTZ, Ceplast and Guangdong, within the Command jurisdiction in the south western region of Ogun state of the gains of obtaining the excise Factory Incense .
