Officers and Men of Oyo/Osun Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service under the leadership of Comptroller Ben Oramalugo has recorded over N11.6billion in less than eight weeks.
The amount generated into the Federation account within September 18th of his resumption as Area Controller of the Command through first week of November
amounts to the sum of Eleven Billion, Six Hundred and Seventy Nine Million, Seven Hundred and Thirty Two Thousand, Five Hundred and Eighty Three Naira, Ninety One Kobo(N11,679,732,583.91k)
Giving account of his stewardship at the maiden press briefing on Friday, November 10, 2023, Comptroller Oramalugo revealed that the feat is aimed at enhancing trade facilitation, revenue generation and suppression of smuggled/prohibited items within the Command’s Area of Responsibility (AoR).
Comptroller Oramalugo disclosed also that the great feat was made possible as a result of measures put in place by the command.
In his words”During the period covering September to October 2023, the Command through its rigorous enforcement measures and strategic initiatives has contributed to the economic growth of the nation by collecting the sum of Eleven Billion, Six Hundred and Seventy Nine Million, Seven Hundred and Thirty Two Thousand, Five Hundred and Eighty Three Naira, Ninety One Kobo as revenue into the coffers of the Federal Government.
“When added to the revenue collected for the period covering January to August 2023, the Command has collected a Sum of Fifty Nine Billion, and Eighty Seven Million, Nine Hundred and Eighty Three Thousand, Six Hundred and Seventy Naira, Sixty Four Kobo).
“This feat is made possible by our resolve to continue to prioritize trade facilitation, religiously enforce provisions of our extant laws aimed at facilitating legitimate trade, implementation of various measures to simplify customs processes, reducing bureaucracy within the system with the aim of promoting legitimate trade and foster a conducive business environment for excise traders operating within the Command’s Area of Responsibility” he stated.
He added that the Command also intercepted some contraband goods within the period under review with the use of intelligence and continuous patrol/enforcement operations comprising of collaboration and stakeholder engagement.
He listed some of the items seized to includes sixty four (64) sacks and one hundred and fifty (150) compressed cannabis sativa (otherwise known as Indian hemp) weighing a total of 777.5kg. The seized items were handed over to officials of the Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).
He however acknowledged that the achievements recorded by the Command were made possible through timely sharing of credible intelligence and effective collaboration and synergy between all units of Nigeria Customs Service resident between Oyo and Osun States (Federal Operations Unit, Border Drill)
He also acknowledged the collaborative efforts of the sister agencies such as Nigerian Army, Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Police Force, Department of State Security, NDLEA, and Oyo State Operation Burst for ensuring.
He expressed appreciation to the CGC and the management team for making available the needed tools that aids their operation. “At this juncture we wish to express our gratitude to the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC) BA Adeniyi MFR dsm fnipr psc (+) who in his efforts to ensure the realization of the Command’s mandate in the area of suppression of smuggling has made provisions for operational vehicles to the Command and leveraging on the inspiration and support received we hope to improve our performance subsequent months ahead” Ben Oramalugo said.