Pix: Abdullahi Abubakar, Customs Spokesman

The Nigeria Customs Service, Ports Terminal Multiservices Limited Command, has collected a total of N189.5bn as revenue from November 2024 to mid-April 2025 using the Unified Customs Management System, also known as B’Odogwu.

The command confirmed this in a statement on Wednesday signed by its Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Abubakar.

According to him, the Customs Area Controller in charge of the command, Tenny Daniyan, disclosed this during the first quarter briefing with senior officers and sectional heads.

He described the platform as a top-notch technology, defying its initial teething challenges, “to become a part of the service success in revenue collection and trade facilitation”.

He added that the command made history on April 14, 2025, when it collected “N5.6bn as revenue, which stands out as the highest daily collection ever made in its over two decades of history.”

Daniyan attributed the successes of the command to the visionary and focused leadership of Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi.

He said that the first quarter collection indicates the sustained positive trajectory championed by the management of the service.

“From January to March 2025, the Command collected ₦90bn, which is 38.8 per cent higher than the ₦66bn collected in the same period of 2024,” he said.

According to him, the success of the B’Odogwu application in the command being the pilot phase area is responsible for the CGC’s approval of its simultaneous spread and full deployment across various commands.

“The Command holds the number one record for the fastest cargo clearance time of two hours for compliant RoRo consignments, and we are committed to improving on this by making the time shorter,” Daniyan said.

The PTML Customs boss mentioned that in addition to European vessels coming to PTML, the port is now receiving ships from China to expand the frontiers of trade and the prospect of higher revenue from increased economic activities.

“Working in line with the Time Release Study for faster cargo clearance, we are urging all our port users to make sincere declarations and stay compliant, as those are the bedrock to enjoying more benefits in trade. Anyone who fails to make a sincere declaration forfeits the benefits of faster clearance,” he said.

He reiterated the command’s uncompromising disposition towards smuggling, either as concealment, under-declaration, under-valuation or outright false declaration.

Daniyan emphasised that their officers are trained and prepared to detect such infractions for seizure and possible arrest of persons suspected to be behind such acts.

The CAC also said the command is ready for a higher volume of trade, including the handling of imported pharmaceutical products, which was recently approved by the management of the service.