The House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise says the South-West produces the majority of revenue of the Nigeria Customs Service.

Leke Abejide, chairman of the committee, disclosed this at the inauguration of committee members in Abuja on Tuesday.

“NCS is a big institution with a lot of commands, which are divided into zones A, B, and C, with the South-West falling into the zone A category,” said the legislator.

According to him, most of the customs’ revenue comes from Zone A, which comprises Lagos, Ondo, Ekiti, Oyo, Osun, and Ogun, with Lagos having the highest seaport among the six. 

“We need to do oversight in these places because we need to approve their budget. We must take a critical look at whatever comes in the budget,” said Mr Abejide.

He explained that the committee worked extra hard in the Ninth Assembly to ensure the functionality of the NCS, of which he was the chairman.

“I want to assure you that the committee on customs and excise will be steadfast in its pursuit of excellence. We will work tirelessly to enhance trade facilitation policies, modernise customs procedures, and foster a conducive environment for economic growth and development,” stated the lawmaker.

Mr Abejide said with the new act, the NCS now had access to increased revenue via a new financing model of four per cent FOB, thus enabling it to operate more effectively and efficiently.

“The new act also introduces a robust e-commerce system, aligning the NCS with global digital trends and promoting rapid revenue generation and ease of doing business,” the legislator explained.

He said another notable milestone of the act is establishing a clear leadership structure for the customs, listing the seven areas of focus of the committee to include oversight of the NCS’s implementation of the new act, revenue collection and remittance, cost of collection, export processing zones, training institutions, customs and excise laws, and budget estimates. 

(NAN)