The Seme Command of Nigeria Customs Service on Monday said it generated N 1.07

billion revenue in February.

Controller for the command, Victor Dimka, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Seme.

Dimka said that the revenue for the period was N 172.6 million higher than N 899.8 million generated in the corresponding period in 2015.

“When I came to this command in January, one of the promises I made was that I would collect maximum revenue and suppress smuggling to its barest minimum.

“I am glad we have started achieving that; the command generated N 1,072,484,462.82 as revenue in the month of February.

“This is the first of its kind in the month of February since the creation of the command.

“We were able to achieve this in spite of the prevailing high exchange rate, the strike by the Nigerian Ports Authority and the Customs in the Republic of Benin and protest on implementation of unifying ex-factory price.”

Dimka added that the command made 55 seizures with a Duty Paid Value (DVP) of N15.6 million and arrested six suspects during the period.

He attributed the achievement of the command to the commitment of the management team, stakeholders and the members of the community.

“It is easy to attain success, but not easy to maintain success, therefore all hands must be on deck to maintain and exceed the current record.”

Dimka urged Nigerians to desist from smuggling and embrace legitimate trade, saying that there was no room for smuggling in the area.

“We are determined to eliminate all loopholes and block all revenue leakages which would translate to more revenue generation for us.” (NAN)

•Photo shows Col. Hameed Ali (rtd).