LAGOS FREE TRADE ZONE COMMAND HITS ₦234 BILLION IN 8 MONTHS.
The Lagos Free Trade Zone Command of the Nigeria Customs Service is just about three years in its operation and is headed for the past five months by Comptroller Olanrewaju Abdulwahab Olumoh, a meticulously articulate and assiduous officer who has continued with his officers to make the Command to grow in leaps and bounds.
The Command has over the past five months and counting recorded some very impressive feats and we deemed it necessary to exclusively ask the Area Controller some questions about what forms the catalyst for the performance of the Command.
Comptroller Olumoh says that the experience has been very wonderful and that he considers firstly the role of the media in informing the public about their activities totally crucial. He said that his predecessors who started the Command had done very well, and that though the Command is still in its infancy, it has been very good in carrying out one of its core mandates which is trade facilitation.
His words “The turn around time for cargoes is very fast and the 13 Free Zones have been very up and doing . Now, India’s biggest conglomerate, the Tata Group is now building its business in this Zone because of the nature of the business environment”.
Comptroller Olumoh commended the strategic thinking of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi who he says is highly influential with his policy of innovation, collaboration and consolidation which encourage all the officers and men of the Service to put in their very best.
In terms of the other mandate of revenue generation, he informed us that “The Command made a revenue of Seventy Four Billion (₦74,000,000,000) Naira in 2023, but that as at this 27th day of September interview, that they have hit a figure of Two Hundred and Thirty Four Billion Naira (₦234,000,000,000) this is over a hundred percent increase in generated revenue “.
He emphasised that “Our concentration on trade facilitation, the policy of an open door to all stakeholders, a great post clearance audit unit, the intelligence unit, the fast track policy, very good complaint investors at the Free Zones and of course the dint of hard work and good knowledge of operational procedures by officers are the ingredients that have all added to make sure of good performance by the Command”.
He also added that the arrangements for proper accommodation which will soon be provided by the headquaters has been quite good for morale, but that the issue of inadequate staff numbers is being addressed as at the moment.
The CAC in projecting into the future said that the market for Nigerian goods is large and that in the next three to five years, the ₦234 Billion just made in eight months will look like peanuts as the Command continues to grow in all areas. He foresees the Command being one of the top five revenue generating Commands in the country soon.
Comptroller Olumoh concluded that in line with the Comptroller-General of Customs policies, a sick bay has been commissioned at the Command for easy assess to healthcare for officers and men of the Command and that “It has significantly enhanced productivity”.
