IN its relentless effort to battle rice smuggling, the Customs Area Controller of Seme Command, Comptroller Willy Egbudin, has disclosed that the command has raised the anti smuggling tempo by increasing the existing patrols and fortifying the approved check points with the deployment of very vigilant officers.

THE Tin Can Island Command said it has generated N43,230,628,110 revenue between January and February 2014. According to the Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Jibrin Zakari, the command was given a target of N264 billion, which translates to N22 billion per month.

Details of the revenue figures released by the command, shows that N20,550 billion was collected in January, while N21,355billion was collected in the month of February 2014.

The statement added that in January, N12,462 billion was collected into the Federation account which is made up of import duty and fees while N3,112 billion was collected into non federation account which included 7 per cent levy, NAC,1per cent CSS, ETL, sugar,rice, wheat flour,wheat grain, iron, cigarette and cement.

In FebruaryN13,299billion was raked into Federation Account made up of import duty and fees, also N3,337billion was raked into the Non Federation Account which included 7 per cent levy,NAC,1 per cent, CISS, ETL, sugar, rice, brown rice, wheat flour, wheat grain, iron, cigarette and cement. Jibril maintained that the increase in revenue was made possible through the commitment of men and officers of the command who have not given up in the discharge of their constitutional functions and tasks.

He credited the increase in revenue by the command to the existing leadership in the Customs Headquarters, Abuja. The Customs chief further asserted that the support and good motivation by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Alhaji Inde Dikko Abdullahi have made everybody to work very hard in revenue generation.

THE National Agricultural Seed Council, NASC has said the council was strategising to weed out fake agro dealers distributing seeds to farmers under the government’s Growth Enhancement Support scheme.

THE ACG, Zonal Coordinator, the Nigeria Customs Service, Zone D, Headquarters, Bauchi, Ukaigwe P.C has said that the introduction of Information Communication Technology in the Nigerian Customs activities has strengthened efficiency in clearing.

The Ogun State Government today made good its promise of paying compensations to farmers whose crops had to give way to some of its infrastructural developments as about N20m was paid to 151 farmers in Itoku Elewe Irepodun Community in Kobape, Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of the State.