Governor Abba Yusuf has commended the Kano/Jigawa area command of the Nigeria Customs Service for recording a 10.1 per cent rise in revenue between January and October 2025.

The command generated N93.9 billion within the period, compared with N85.3 billion collected in 2024.

In the Kano Free Trade Zone, revenue also surged from N2.6 billion in 2024 to N17.7 billion in 2025, representing a remarkable 582.93 per cent increase, driven by enhanced oversight and improved trader compliance.

Mr Yusuf, represented by the commissioner for commerce, industries, and investment, Shehu Wada-Sagagi, gave the commendation at a dinner organised by the Kano/Jigawa Stakeholders’ Forum in Kano to celebrate the command’s emergence as the most improved revenue command at the 2025 Comptroller-General of Customs Conference.

Mr Yusuf lauded the area controller, Dalhatu Abubakar-Zurmi, for what he described as a courageous and exemplary tenure marked by innovation and discipline.

The governor extolled the command’s achievements, particularly intercepting illicit drugs, which he described as a threat to families across the state.

He urged Mr Abubakar-Zurmi to document his achievements as a reference for future customs officers, adding that his leadership had set a benchmark for reforms and modern customs operations.

He congratulated the command and prayed for its continued success in strengthening the country’s trade and security environment.

Mr Abubakar-Zurmi thanked the comptroller-general of customs for entrusting him with the command’s leadership.

He recalled that his policies were unpopular when he assumed duty on February 3, 2025, but stakeholders’ cooperation turned early resistance into trust.

“We moved from crisis to trust. We enlightened, sensitised and modernised customs procedures. The business community supported this celebration without a kobo from the service,” he said.

The controller commended his officers, describing them as capable of heading any formation in the service.

Mr Abubakar-Zurmi also reaffirmed the command’s zero-tolerance stance against smuggling, stressing that modernisation had come to stay.

“To my friends, the smugglers, even if I retire today, if I see you, I will arrest you,” he said.

Other stakeholders at the event praised the command’s achievements, describing its transformation as unprecedented in the area command’s history.

(NAN)