House of Representatives Demands End to Customs’ Roadblocks

The House of Representatives has asked the Nigerian Customs Service to stop the practice of mounting roadblocks in search of goods that have already been brought into the country.

After considering a motion of public importance raised by Temitope Olatoye, the House urged the Comptroller General of Customs to deploy more personnel to the borders to curtail the activities of smugglers.

The Nigerian Customs Service has also been encouraged to engage in continuous training and development programmes for its officers for optimal performance.

According to the lawmaker, there has been low generation of revenue by the Customs due to corruption and other factors, which he listed.

“Allowing contraband goods to be smuggled into Nigeria, failure to enforce the payment of requisite duties, poor accountability of the revenue generated and preferential treatment of high net-worth individuals are responsible for the low revenue generation of the service,” Honourable Olatoye said.

He then urged the Customs to focus more on preventing contraband goods from coming into Nigeria.