House of Representatives Committee on Customs visits Zone C Headquarters in Port Harcourt

As part of its oversight responsibilities, the House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise paid a working visit to the Customs Zone C Headquarters in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Wednesday.

The visit also served as an opportunity for the Customs Area 1 Command and other Commands under Zone C to showcase their first-quarter achievements in revenue generation, anti-smuggling operations, and trade facilitation.

The event functioned as a stocktaking session, with Area Controllers taking turns to present their achievements, prospects, projects, and challenges to the Committee.

Speaking to newsmen on the sidelines, the Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Leke Abejide, expressed satisfaction with the findings, promising that the information gathered would be reviewed to enhance customs operations.

“I am satisfied with our findings. We will go back and work out modalities to ensure more revenue is generated, trade is facilitated, and smuggling is suppressed," he said.

"When we talk of non-oil revenue, Customs comes to mind," he emphasized.

In his welcome address, the Zonal Coordinator for Customs Zone C, ACG S.K. Dangaladima, thanked the committee for their visit and pledged continued collaboration to achieve shared objectives. He also commended officers and men of the zone for their dedication to revenue generation, trade facilitation, and smuggling suppression.

During his presentation, Comptroller Mustapha Hashim, Customs Area Controller of Area 1 Command, reported that the Command generated ₦56.1 billion in the first quarter of 2025 — a 28.6% increase from the ₦43.6 billion collected during the same period in 2024.

He further disclosed, “The command’s revenue target for 2025 is ₦216 billion. As of April 22, we have already generated over ₦18 billion, surpassing the ₦17.4 billion collected in the entire month of April 2024.”

Comptroller Hashim assured that the Command would continue to work within the ambit of the law to meet and exceed revenue targets.

On anti-smuggling efforts, he revealed that the Command had intensified its operations, leading to several arrests and the transfer of intercepted animals and plants to relevant government agencies in accordance with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). He also noted the seizure of nine packages of Tafradol-200mg tablets at the NAHCO shed at Port Harcourt International Airport.

Similarly, Comptroller Bishir Balogun, Customs Area Controller for the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone C, Owerri, presented his Command’s impressive scorecard.

“The FOU Zone C has made significant strides in trade facilitation, revenue generation, implementation of government fiscal policies, and combating smuggling,” Comptroller Balogun said.

He listed major seizures made without the use of force, including:

• 2,425 pieces of used tyres

• 
  647 bales of second-hand clothing
• 
  2,762 rolls of satin mirror dull-face fabric

• 3,400 cartons of smuggled spaghetti from Turkey

• 25 blocks of cannabis sativa

• 
  233 sacks of foreign parboiled rice and 14 bags of 50kg rice

Between March 20 and April 20, 2025, the Unit recorded over 30 interceptions and 10 categories of seizures, amounting to a Duty Paid Value (DPV) of ₦1,010,113,880. Additionally, the unit raised Demand Notices totaling ₦13,451,848.

Contributing to the discussions, Mr. Mike Ebeatu, Chairman/CEO of Microconsult Nigeria Ltd and former chairman of ANLCA Onne Seaport Chapter, supported calls for Customs to receive 4% of the revenue they generate.

"We support Customs on that. They have done well and deserve to be compensated," Ebeatu said.

He emphasized that clearing agents, who work closely with importers, should also benefit from incentives, arguing that this would discourage sharp practices such as under-declaration and concealment.

Ebeatu lamented the poor state of road infrastructure in Eastern ports, noting that the absence of functional rail and road networks negatively impacts freight forwarding businesses.

"The rate of container accidents is high. We need railway connectivity from here to Aba, Nnewi, and Onitsha. Some colleagues have to transport cargoes from here to Kano dry port, which could be made easier and safer by rail," he added.

He urged the federal government to improve railway infrastructure and invest in non-intrusive inspection technologies, noting that Onne Port has only one scanner, with other ports in the zone lacking scanners altogether.

Other prominent officials present at the event included Comptroller Chukwudi Ogbonna (Akwa Ibom/Calabar Command), Comptroller Chika Dim (Eastern Marine Command), Comptroller Comfort Ukpanah (Enugu Command), Comptroller Peterson Akpan (Imo/Abia Command), and Deputy Comptroller Ege Chukwu Sunday, who represented the Oil and Gas Free Trade Zone in Port Harcourt.