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The Customs Area Controller of the Apapa Command of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Comptroller Yusuf Malanta, has assured that the scanning machine that was purchased by the Federal Government would be deployed for operations in the next two months.
This is even as the Controller stated that the lingering construction of the standard gauge rail in Apapa port is a major reason the Service has not commenced operation of the scanners.
While briefing newsmen recently, Comptroller Malanta said, “We can’t operate the scanners while the rail construction work is in progress because the radioactive activity will pose health threats to the workers.
“These scanners have already been synchronised with the current platform of the NCS which is the Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System (NICIS) II. The scanners in Onne and Tin Can Island are working.
“The workers working on connecting the port quay to the standard gauge are still very much present inside the port, and so we cannot commence operation of the scanners because of their radioactive nature. It is dangerous for those rail workers.”
He however, expressed optimism that with the level of cooperation from the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the intervention of the Minister of State for Transportation, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, within the next two months Apapa scanners would be deployed and utilised.
On revenue, Comptroller Malanta said that the revenue figure for the past six months showed a significant increase of N156 billion or 42.54 per cent when compared to the N366.5 billion collected in the corresponding period of 2021.
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“This feat was made possible because of our officers’ resilience in ensuring identified revenue leakages have been mitigated, while sustaining the level of compliance by the importers/stakeholders in the clearance value chain,” he said.
On export, he said that in line with the Federal Government efforts to diversify the economy through non-oil export, the command recorded a boom in the exportation of non-oil commodities with about 2.5 million metric tonnes, above the 540 metric tonnes in the year 2021.
He noted that the Free on Board (FOB) value for the exported items also rose from $1.6 million in the year 2021 to $138 million in 2022.
“Items exported include steel bars, agricultural and mineral products amongst others. The Federal Government policy and export incentive schemes have played vital roles in boosting export trade in Nigeria,” he said.
He said that for the period under review, the command curbed the smuggling of dangerous items, resulting in the seizure of 83 containers with a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N8.3 billion.
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