- Says Seme Border Fully Operational now
(Written by Silas Onuoha)
The Customs Area Controller (CAC) of
Seme Area Command of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Comptroller B.M. Jibo and his team have
collected N431.2million revenue for the Federal Government from January 2021 till date.
The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Command, ASC1 HUSSAINI ABDULLAHI,
disclosed this information to Maritime Journalists on behalf of the CAC.
He said that Seme Customs Command under Comptroller Jibo, who is focused and result oriented, also
made seizures with Duty Paid Value of N409.8million within the same period.
He stated emphatically that Seme border is fully operational at the moment; and Comptroller Jibo is working tirelessly to enhance legitimate trade facilitation to increase revenue collection.
His assertions: “The attention of Seme Area Command has been drawn to a misleading narrative in some quarters of the public that the Seme-Krake border has not been fully reopened, thereby limiting seamless inflow and outflow of legitimate goods.
“It is pertinent to state that since the re-opening of some land borders by the Federal Government of Nigeria in December, 2020, with Seme Border Command being among the four borders re-opened, its operations has since been sustained on full scale. Although some initial hitches were encountered by our Nigerian importers concerning high charges of fees and levies imposed on Nigeria bound goods before entry.”
The PRO pointed out: “On the other hand, the Command made pragmatic moves towards cementing the synergy with host community and other security agencies including Benin Republic Security agencies operating at the joint border post.
“In addition, the Command successfully processed and exited the following number of trucks from January till date; ETLS – 1059; EXPORT – 2487; IMPORT/BAGGAGE – 179; and a total of 713 declarations were captured and processed.
“The above
achievements are indications that the border is not only open, but fully operational since the re-opening of four land borders by Government.
“To this end, the Command is calling on the general public to disregard such false information, as it was just an imagination of the perpetrators mischievously aimed at casting doubt in the minds of Nigerians engaging in legitimate businesses at the border.
“The Command will continue to actualise sustainable campaign and provision of necessary instruments, with a view to facilitating legitimate trade, in line with government fiscal policy directives”.
