Nigeria Customs to procure N3.4bn surveillance aircraft, as Lilypond Command rakes in N86.4bn

Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has received approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for the sum of N3.4 billion to procure surveillance aircraft for its operations.

The approval was given by the FEC during its scheduled meeting, Wednesday, at the State House, Abuja.

Minister of State Budget and National Planning, Clement Agba, who disclosed this while briefing State House Correspondents at the end of the week’s cabinet meeting, said the aircraft is expected to help in air surveillance operations, as well as, curb the activities of smugglers.

“The Ministry of Finance Budget and National Planning presented a couple of memos for which approvals were obtained. The first one was for the award of contract for the procurement of a Cessna Caravan aircraft by the Nigerian Customs in the sum of N3, 447, 442, 710 inclusive of 7.5 percent VAT with a delivery period of 12 months.

“This aircraft is an addition to the current fleet in the Customs Service and it is aimed towards combating smuggling activities and enhancing intelligence gathering. It is also to provide aerial surveillance and reconnaissance for the customs across our borders,” Agba said.

He further disclosed that the sum of N45.9 billion was approved as augmentation for the cost of contracts for the construction of the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (NDIC) Head office Building in Abuja and Lagos, including its training institute in Lagos.

“The augmentation amount is a total of N45, 937, 319, 279.44. There are three different projects here; the first one is the NDIC Head Office Annex project in Abuja, the Lagos Office project and the Lagos Training Centre project in Lekki-Lagos,” he said.

Agba also disclosed that the Council further gave approval for the implementation of the Nigerian Customs Service Modernization Project.

Meanwhile, the Lilypond Export Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) processed 118,184. 96 metric tonnes of export goods with Free-On-Board (FOB) value of N86,426,279,070.59 ($204,656,119.04), from January to March.

Comptroller Mohammed Babandede, in charge of the command, made the disclosure at a news conference in Lagos on Wednesday.

According to Babandede, the goods processed include agricultural produce such as cocoa beans, cashew nuts, sesame seeds, hibiscus flower, soya beans and ginger.

He listed minerals processed to include lithium ore, manganese ore and zircon sand.

He added that manufactured goods exported included instant noodles, cosmetics, cigarettes and beverages.

“The Lilypond Export Command of NCS was established in August 2022 but commenced operation in November 2022 though not with full capacity; it is operating to the best of its ability.

“We all know that a policy of this administration is to diversify from oil to non-oil sector. There is need for us to have export vitality.

“Therefore, in its wisdom, the administration of President Mohammadu Buhari decided to encourage non-oil export.

“NCS and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) were asked to come up with a modality on how to promote and facilitate the business of export, and the NCS decided to establish the Lilypond Export Command in order to address challenges of exporters,” he said.

He added that NCS and NPA approved establishment of Export Processing Terminals (EPTs) with the mandate to undertake stuffing, examination and document processing for non-oil export cargos accessing Lagos ports by road, rail and barges.

“This establishment is geared toward fast-tracking export businesses for quick turnover, ensuring proper documentation and repatriation of export proceeds back to the country to decongest the ports and all the roads leading to the ports,” he said.

He said that Lilypond Export Command, although new, had recorded some achievements including reducing delay in export processing.