The Tin-Can Island Port Command of the Nigeria Customs Service has generated N117.8bn between January and April 2020.
According to a statement signed by the Public Relations Officer, NCS Tin Can Island Command, Uche Ejesieme, the revenue was achieved by deploying Time Release Study tool to aid trade facilitation and revenue generation.
Customs Area Controller, Tin Can Island Command, Musa Abdullahi, said the TRS tool was beefed up for strategic planning in determining the actual time required for the release and clearance of goods, right from the time of arrival to physical release from Customs’ control.
Abdullahi said the TRS tool was a strategic tool capable of identifying bottlenecks in the trade value chain and creating an enabling environment for effectiveness and efficiency in operations.
He said, “It is on the strength of this and other parameters that the command generated a total of N117.8bn between January and April in spite of the global pandemic which has posed a great challenge.
“The figure is against the sum of N106.6bn generated same period in 2019, reflecting a difference of N11.1bn.’’
Speaking on the coronavirus pandemic, the controller reiterated the readiness of the command to ensure adherence and compliance with the extant protocols specified by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and the World Health Organisation towards mitigating the spread of the virus.
He noted that the command had conducted series of seminars and awareness campaign, targeted at sensitising the officers/men as well as stakeholders to measures of containing the pandemic.
According to him, these measures will be sustained even after the COVID-19 era.
He stated, “Even at the onset of this pandemic when pressure, anxiety and general apprehension was the order of the day, the command demonstrated resilience, sagacity and compassion in its approach to the novel pandemic.
“The tension was reduced from the psyche of the operatives with confidence inspired that enabled them to attend to their functions without let or hindrance.”
Abdullahi said that with the TRS tool, the command had generated statistical data on the actual time declarations were made, up till the time of release from Customs’ control.
He noted that it was on the basis of this that the command realised that the NCS was only involved in two major functions in the trade value chain – examination and release of cargo from Customs’ control.
He pointed out that the commitment of the command necessitated the need to work towards ensuring that all operational bottlenecks were removed from the value chain for efficiency in accordance with global standards.
