By SINL Reporter
The Nigeria Customs Service on Thursday revealed that it has generated N573 billion as revenue between January and May 2020.
The Deputy Comptroller General of Customs, Sanusi Umar made the disclosure at an interactive session with the senate committee on customs at the National Assembly, Abuja.
Chairman Senate Committee on Customs, Francis Ailimikhena (Edo North), in an opening address said the interface was fashion out to determine revenue generation and to ascertain the 2020 Budget performance of the Nigeria customs among others.
He added that it was part of the committee’s mandate to have an update on recruitment exercise, number of seized goods, number auctioned and amount realized from the auction.
According to the custom delegation, led by Umar, “From January to May (2020) the performance of the budget is N37, 865, 867, 750 representing 15.90 per cent of the (Service’s) budget.
“The target given to the Service in terms of revenue was N1.6 trillion but due to the COVID-19 pandemic the target was reviewed to N957billion. As at January to May (2020) the Service had collected N573, 190, 265, 605.41.”
He explained that the agency has so far spent the sum of N300million on its yet to be concluded recruitment exercise of 3,200 officers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, Senator Adamu Aliero noted that the 2020 target revenue of the custom will be difficult to realize, saying because of lack of imports from February to June.
“I wonder how you are going to meet your target, I suggest the sale of seized goods to realize your target” he said.
The committee however expressed dissatisfaction on the report of seized items by the custom, stressing that it should forward a comprehensive report to it.
The customs had earlier said it recorded grand total of 28,844 seized items from its four zones, from 2015 to May 2020.
