By Stephen Ubanna
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who incidentally was a former Lagos state governor, unification of the official and Parallel, popular, Black markets exchange rates on assumption of office on May 29, 2023, appears to have impacted positively on the various Commands of the Nigeria Customs of Service, NCS, under the Leadership of Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, daily and monthly revenue collections at the country’s seaports, airports and Land border stations.
The various Customs Formations daily and monthly revenue collections may have been given a further boost as the service had entered into a working partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, under the close watch of Olayemi Michael Cardoso.
The Customs Comptroller General who may have succeeded in getting the CBN, governor to remove the bottlenecks in the current manual process of communication between the apex bank forex department and the service Trade and Tariff, T&T department speaks volume.
Recall that the Customs Formations across the country have always had problem in the calculation of import and export duties as well as other levies and fees at the ports, airports and Land border stations because of the manual process of the Communication of the prevailing exchange rate in the past. This may have informed why the service had lost billions of uncollected revenues in the past years.
During a recent visit to the CBN, governor, Adeniyi, the Customs Comptroller General, was said to have made him to understand that the removal of the administrative bottlenecks, is for ‘’the purpose of duty collection’’.
The Customs helmsman , who could not hide his feelings ad said that the removal of the administrative bottleneck in communication of the prevailing exchange that should be used for calculation of import and export duties on a daily basis has become very necessary with the implement of the B’Odogwu system, which is an indigenous technology , managed by Trade Management Project , to replace the NICIS , which was a foreign technology managed by Web Fountain, to collect import and export duties and levies and fees for other relevant government agencies including the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, baptized Federal Revenue Agency.
He may have had his way as the CBN, governor, who, many believes has the ear of the Nigerian President had given his words ‘’to provide all the necessary support so that the nation’s banking sector aligns with the Customs transition from NICIS to B’Odogwu systems to collect its import and export duties, fees and levies at the ports, airports and land border stations’’.
The CBN, governor may have gladdened the heart of the Customs boss, who was said to have his office a happy person when he assured him that ‘’the regulatory bank would works towards ensuring compliance among Commercial Banks with directives to improve trade processes to enhance the NCS, revenue collection efficiency.
The CBN, appears to have kept to his words, as the various Customs Commands across the country, particular, Apapa, Tin-can Island and Port Multi-services Terminal, PTML, which have started implementing the B’Odogwu technology and currently reaping the benefits of improved daily revenue collections.
As at Tuesday, March 18, 2025, the NCS, was said to have used an exchange rate of N1,645.65 to the North American country of the United States, US, one dollar to calculate Customs duties at the Nigerian ports and other entry points across the country. The forex was said to have been adjusted from the initial N1,663.00 to the US, one dollar to the prevailing exchange of N1,664.65 to the US one dollar, thus saving N17.38 to the dollar for importers taking delivery of their cargoes at the Nigerian ports.
The easing of the financial burden of cargo clearance of the importers is a clear indications of increased cargo traffic into Nigerian ports in the upcoming months. Prior to the adjustment to the new exchange rate which had been effective since Dec. 3, 2024, the Command had collected over N261 billion, revenue for the Federal Government, FG, in the month of January 2025.
Last Friday, March 14, 2025, Babatunde Olomu, Apapa Command Area Controller and Customs Comptroller of the Year , 2024, whose Command was named the Best in Revenue Generation and Trade Facilitation, ports, at the Nov. 29, 2024, CGC’S Awards Night, through bdullahi Usman, an Assistant Comptroller , overseeing the Command’s Public Relations Unit, had issue a Statement confirming the N18.9 billion daily revenue collection.
The March 14, 2025, revenue collection, which was said to have been paid into the Federation account, according the Apapa Command, spokesperson, was much more than the 18.2 billion, that was said to have been achieved by the Command, under Compt. Olomu, Leadership, in October 2024, and celebrated in Customs circles.
Until his deployment , from the Customs Headquarters to the Apapa Command, which handles over 60% of the volume of cargo traffic into the country, the highest daily revenue which was said to have been achieved by the Command by a former Area Controller , was N11.3 billion , which was said to have collected and paid into the Federal Government coffers on Nov.22, 2023, during the Administration of Compt..Babajide Jayeoba, who had retired from the service , after years going by the Fderal Civil service rules of engagement.
The Apapa Command spokesperson who had alluded to the remarks of the Customs Comptroller who had described ‘’the feat as the beginning of greater revenue collection that will be achieved this year’ ’noting that the structures to collect more revenue for the government in the months ahead had already been established and working perfectly well.
Note that Compt. Olomu, at every forum, has never failed to tell those that cares to listen that the Command under his Leadership won’t be ‘’lowering the standard that it had been attained this year’’.
The Customs Comptroller, who many believes hardly have time for himself because of the nature of the job, is proud of his field officers, who appears to have shunned all efforts by Agents to influence them to compromises on the job, had insisted on the right thing being done.
This may have informed why revenue mobilizer could beat is chest at any given time that his officers are ever ready ‘’to detect concealment, undeclaration and other antics of the fraudulent importers with the Agents, geared towards duty evasion.
An elated Compt. Olomu, had reportedly sad that the dedication of the Command officers to duty, sustenance of compliance as a norm, and promotion of industrial harmony was instrumental to the N18. 9 billion daily revenue generation that had been achieved by the Apapa Command on March 14, 2025.
Acting out a script of the Comptroller General, to sustain the Command high revenue generation profile, the Customs Comptroller was said to have intervened to resolve all port crisis with the stakeholders over the issues around the Eto’o call up system initiated by the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, which was said to have caused traffic gridlock at the Apapa port environment.
The situation was so worrisome that members of the Association Nigerian Licensed Agents, ANLCA, National Agency o Government Approved Freight Forwarders, NAGAFF, National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, NCMDLCA, and African Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria, AAPFFLON, had threatened to withdraw their services from the premier port which maritime analysts could have affected the Command revenue collection.
Demined not to allow that happen under his Leadership at the Apapa Command may have informed why he had stepped in to resolve the issues between them and APM Terminals which had lingering over the months. His intervention, according to an insider was said to have prevented a short down of the port operations by the Freight Forwarders and promoted productivity with seamless import and export activities. The result is the N18.9 billion daily revenue collection, which a source had said is a monthly revenue collection of some Commands, particular, the Interventionist Commands and other Commands excising excise Factories across the country.
The Command exit gate officers appears to be following the legacy that was said to have been left behind by the then DC. Frank Okechukwu Onyeka, the officer in charge of Apapa exit gate, who had had been elevated to the enviable rank of Comptroller and now Area Controller, Tin-can can Island Command.
Given his track record as an officer who wants his job to speak for him, the Tin-can Island Area Controller , who was said to have had a close watch over the terminals superintended by the Command under his leadership, according to a senior Customs officer who spoke to The Value News online Magazine on condition of anonymity had improved the daily revenue Collection of the Command, much better than what was met on ground.
Compt. Onyeka, who was said to have taken a cue from the Apapa Area Controller, to deliver on his mandate to justify his deployment to Lagos based Customs Command, appears to have lived up to expectation to sustain the Command’s record as the second best in the service revenue generation and trade facilitation drive.
Unconfirmed reports shows that the Command has made a mouth watery daily revenue collection of N10, billion, which was said to have been paid into the Federation account. An insider had confirmed that the daily huge revenue collection was made in this month of March, 2025.
Many believes that the Command could hit that N10 billion daily revenue target because of the strategic measures that had hand been put in place by the Customs Comptroller over the last two months by the Customs Comptroller to take advantage of the policy thrusts of the incumbent Customs Comptroller General to deliver on the Command revenue allocation which remains a closely guided secret. Last January, the Command had collected and paid into the Federation account a total sum of N116.4 billion.
