APAPA SEAPORT BEATS THE ODDS
has Comptroller Charles Eporwei Edike as the Customs Area Controller (CAC) must lead the way. The command is like the first son in the NCS family. It cannot afford to fail. The consequences of the command failing to meet its primary function of trade facilitation, anti-smuggling and revenue generation are too grave to contemplate.
It is pertinent to note, however, that the command is already making a success of its premier position as going by record since the beginning of the year.
Statistics obtained by THISDAY revealed that the command is not trailing behind in meeting its revenue target for 2015. This is vital due to the fact that just as the government gives NCS revenue target to meet every year, the NCS Headquarters also in turn gives its commands across the country annual revenue targets to meet.
According to the statistics obtained by THISDAY, there is a steady increase in the revenue generated by NCS in Apapa Command since the beginning of this year. For instance, it generated N20, 725, 398, 408; N21, 561, 736, 463; and N32, 381, 285, 428 in January, February, and March 2015 respectively. It is clear from these figures that the slump in business activities that often trailed the beginning of every New Year has not significantly affected revenue generated by the command. In the same vein, in spite of the reduction in vessel inflow as a result of low business activities that characterized the first quarter of the year, as well as the drop in laden occupancy in the terminal, the revenue generated by NCS in Apapa Command has not dwindled. The command has continued to witness a steady increase the revenue is generating. In fact, the record of the command performance in the last three months has shown that the reduction in vessels inflow into Apapa port has not negatively impacted on the revenue generated by NCS in Apapa Command. This is also applicable to laden occupancy in the terminals under the watch of the command as the collated data published herein has shown. Edike in a chat with THISDAY attributed the good performance of the command in recent times to the support and motivation given to men and officers by Abdullahi.
Edike made it clear that the CGC and the NCS management team have not relented in their efforts to ensure that the command live up to expectations in the discharge of its mandate as the Customs formation that has Nigeria’s busiest port under its watch. He stated that the CGC has done a lot to motivate men and officers of the command since he mounted the saddle as the number one Customs officer.
“As far as I am concerned, the CGC tutelage and guidance is working in Apapa Area Command as seen in the positive results posted since the beginning of the year, particularly last month when it generated over N32 billion in spite of the drop in vessels inflow into Apapa port and yard occupancy. We must not forget the dedication of men and officers of this command to duty,” he said.
“They have continued to perform their statutory roles and responsibilities creditably. You must not gloss over the motivation of the CGC in this regard. The CGC has done a lot to encourage and motivate men and officers of this command. He has also supported us with the requisite working tools. These are some of the salient factors behind the successes recorded by this command. I am therefore not surprise that the men and officers have continued to put in their best and the positive results the command is posting are there for everyone to see”.
The CAC also attributed the increase revenue generated by the command, particularly last month, to the blocking of loopholes of leakages in the system through due diligence and the CGC zero tolerance for bribery and corruption.
According to him, the strategic posting and re-posting of men and officers across all Customs formations in the country also contributed to its success story as the exercise rub off positively on the command. This helped, in no small way, to put the command in a vantage position to discharge its functions of revenue generation, anti-smuggling, and trade facilitation satisfactorily.
Many stakeholders in the maritime industry have said that there is need to harness the huge potential in the maritime industry so that Nigeria can fully derive its benefits in the short and long run. This is because the inability of the government to harness the maritime industry has deprived Nigerians of getting its numerous gains as some other countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Philippines have done. It must be noted that unlike Nigeria, these countries do not have a drop of crude oil in their soil. They depend solely on the maritime sector of their economies to meet the yearning and aspirations of their citizenry. As a proof that the maritime industry is a dependable source of revenue, Philippines, for instance, has continued to export its seafarers and in return raking in millions of United States of America (USA) dollars into its economy annually. According to data collated by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the Philippines remains the highest supplier of seafarers to the shipping world.
Nigeria can begin to toe the same line by ensuring that it consolidates on the gains it has already recorded in the maritime industry through a robust strategy of placing NCS on a pedestal that it can attain set goals and objectives. One of the ways it can achieve this is by supporting the service to deliver satisfactorily on its mandate as one of the greatest revenue earners into the economy. Besides, NCS need to be supported by all stakeholders to ensure that it can live up to expectations as enshrined the provisions of the laws establishing it. In the face of dwindling income from the oil gas industry as a result of the slump in crude oil price in the international market, NCS, especially Apapa Area Command , which has Nigeria’s premier port under its purview, need all the support and motivation to ensure that it does not rest on its oars. It needs the support of all stakeholders so that it can consolidate on the gains it has made since the beginning of the year in the months ahead. All hands must be on deck to make sure the command continue to generate more revenue into the coffers of the federal government.