In line with the programmes lined up for the celebration of the silver jubilee of the foremost maritime media association in Nigeria, the League of Maritime Editors (LOME) is paying strategic visit to friends and critical stakeholders to the association. One of the reasons for such visits is to ascertain the conditions of such stakeholders in relations to their operations. It was on this note that during the recent visit to the Apapa Customs Command known as the flagship of all the commands in the nation, the Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Babajide Jaiyeoba, in formed members of the association that he is optimistic of meeting a revenue target of N1.5trillion for this year. This is against the N1.426 trillion set for the Command by the Customs Headquarters. when asked how he would achieve this since the revenue achieved so far as at Monday, October 30, 2023 was put at N900 billion, he said that the importers and freight forwarders have been complying with the measures put in place to check any form of trade infractions. Comptroller Jaiyeoba disclosed that the Command collected N136.39 billion, as revenue as at the end of Monday October 30, 2023 as against the N109 billion, it recorded in last month, September, this year .It could be noted that he assumed duty as the Apapa Command Area Controller in the middle of September, 2023. He therefore reiterated that the Command was able to achieve an increase in revenue and surpassed its monthly revenue target in October, due to the various measures he has adopted. He also explained that most times, delays in clearing are caused by failure of the importers and customs agents in complying with trade regulations as he said that,
“every additional day in the clearing process attracts money. We are in for total trade facilitation. Trading itself is about money, the earlier you clear your goods the better for traders.“Those are the things we are confronting, we have met the agents and we told them that they must embrace honest clearing and that we will also assist in the entire process.“It will reduce delays and if you don’t have delays, you will not have to pay unnecessary demurrage. It will also assist us because we don’t have to handle a document two to three times thereby wasting our time. Just today, we met some terminal operators, they have identified their own challenges and we are addressing them. “The idea of leaving documents on the table has been eradicated, any officer that cannot solve a problem arising from a document would take it to his immediate superior for instant solution,” he said.He did not rule out the fall on Naira value in the international market as part of what is dwindling trade but was very sure that if every economic leakages are blocked, the command will definitely sow high.Earlier on, the President of the association Chief Timothy Okorocha in his intro after congratulating the Customs Area Controller and his management team on their merited positions as a result of their past antecedents, informed them that they came to felicitate with him since he took over the mantle of leadership in the command and also inform him about their forthcoming silver jubilee.The President briefing the Customs boss and his management team about the forthcoming two day silver jubilee anniversary, highlighted that the theme for the event would look at marine and blue economy, the way forward. It will also look at the evaluation on the 2023 Customs Act, and its implications on trade and the ports business, generally. A letter of invite was also presented to him.
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