Between October and November 2015, the Nigeria Customs Service recorded a revenue of N1,178,720,376 from rice imports through the land borders. The revenue was realised from 17,595 metric tons of rice. This was disclosed by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) at a strategy session convened to review revenue performance for the year.
According to the spokesman of the service, Mr. Wale Adeniyi, a deputy comptroller, two months ago, the Customs Comptroller-General had approved the removal of the restriction placed on importation of the commodity through the land borders. He explained that the removal was predicated on the large scale rice smuggling through the land borders, resulting in huge revenue loss and distortions in the price of the item in the local markets. Adeniyi stressed: “The huge collection in just two months has vindicated our position.
If we had stuck to our previous directive, this much quantum of rice would still have been smuggled anyway and we would have lost over a billion naira revenue at this critical period of our economic downtown.” He revealed that rice imports through the Idiroko border in Ogun Command had the largest volume of 8,276 metric tons, with a collection of N555,152,344 duty.
Adeniyi said: “Katsina Borders come next in quantity of 3,636 metric tons imported, where a total revenue of N242,985,626 was collected during the same period. “A total of 2.156 metric tons was imported through the land borders of Oyo/Osun command, generating a total revenue of N144,278,025.” He listed other commands as including: Seme Border – 2,140 metric tons with N143,349,658; Sokoto, 602 metric tons with N40,162,759; Kano/Jigawa, 470 metric tons with N31,536,148; Adamawa/ Taraba, 248 metric tons with N16,545,422 and Niger/ Kwara/Kogi, 68 metric tons with N4,710,394.
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