Zone A Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) located at the Tin Can Port, Lagos on Friday said it collected N17.3 billion as revenue in July.

Mr Chris Osunkwo, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the command, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos. According to him, the revenue is N1 billion lower than the N18.3 billion collected in June. He said that the drop in revenue for the month under review was due to the current challenges in the country.

Osunkwo said, "The short fall can be attributed to the level of insecurity in the country.

"According to the traders, who have containers, the importers are not coming forth to clear them, because they do not have enough funds to pay their duties and shipping company charges.

"They are saying that most of their customers from the Northern part of the country have been caught off, a situation that has led to a drop in their sales."

Osunkwo said the command had redesigned its strategies toward surpassing its monthly revenue target.

He said that the command seized 10 containers containing used tyres, electronic equipment, vehicles, and expired drugs worth N27 million in July.

The PRO said that the command's persuasive approach in dealing with importers yielded results as most of them were complying with duty payment.

"We try to pamper them and make them see reason why they should come and pay the appropriate duties and clear their goods from the ports," he said.

The command spokesman also urged the business community to take advantage of the NCS' import clearance schedule