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Demand For Queen’s Favourite Corgi Dogs Hits New High

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Customs surpasses Q1 target, tackles smuggling, boosts trade facilitation measures This is cherry news for those in power, as the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) announced that it raked in a princely sum of ₦1.75 trillion in revenue during the first quarter of 2025. This figure, according to NCS, surpassed its quarterly target by ₦106.5 billion and marking a 29.96 per cent increase over Q1 2024. The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this on Tuesday, 22 April 2025, at a press briefing held at the Service Headquarters in Abuja. “These results substantiate our effective measures to curb revenue losses while streamlining compliant trade,” Adeniyi stated. “The 29.96 per cent annual increase and steady monthly collections confirm our strategy is working.” According to the CGC, January recorded the highest monthly collection at ₦647.88 billion, exceeding its target by 18.12 per cent and reflecting a 65.77 per cent increase compared to last year. February and March also recorded impressive performances, surpassing their targets and continuing the positive trend. In enforcement, the Service made 298 seizures worth ₦7.7 billion in Duty Paid Value (DPV). Items seized included 135,474 bags of rice, 65,819 litres of petroleum products, ₦730 million worth of narcotics, and wildlife products with a DPV of ₦5.6 billion. “From rice to wildlife, these seizures demonstrate our targeted approach,” the CGC said. “We remain committed to refining our enforcement strategies through intelligence-led operations, technological advancement, and strengthened inter-agency cooperation.” The Service also processed 327,928 import declarations—a 5.28 per cent increase over Q1 2024—representing goods with a total mass of nearly five billion kilograms and a CIF value of ₦14.8 trillion. Though export declarations decreased, export volumes surged by 348 per cent, indicating a shift towards bulk shipments. “This data clearly suggests Nigeria’s accelerating move towards bulk commodity exports,” Adeniyi noted, “while maintaining consistent total export value—reflecting both changing trade patterns and improved processing efficiency.” Highlighting key modernisation milestones, the CGC announced the continued roll-out of the locally developed B’Odogwu customs clearance platform and the launch of the Authorised Economic Operators (AEO) Programme, which provides expedited processing and reduced inspections for compliant traders. The Service also launched its Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, Customs Cares, supporting education, healthcare, and social welfare in communities nationwide. “Customs Cares represents a structured, scalable approach to community development—transforming corporate responsibility into tangible improvements,” the Customs Boss said. On food security, the CGC highlighted the Service’s role in implementing duty waivers on key staples, contributing to lower food prices nationwide. “This combination of current and past exemptions helps explain the steady improvement in food affordability. The benefits of duty relief emerge gradually but accumulate to make food more affordable,” he stated. Despite these achievements, challenges remain. The CGC pointed to exchange rate volatility, 62 recorded changes during the quarter, and ongoing non-compliance issues, particularly smuggling. “We continue to adapt our strategies to combat increasingly sophisticated smuggling networks,” he said. Looking ahead, the CGC reaffirmed the Service’s strategic focus on modernisation and enhanced service delivery. “We’re not just collecting figures—we’re shaping the future of trade and security in Nigeria,” he concluded. “The numbers show we’re delivering.”

Prices for corgis, the dogs beloved by the late Queen Elizabeth II, have doubled to new highs since the monarch’s funeral last week, the UK’s largest pet marketplace said Monday.

Pets4Homes told AFP it was currently experiencing “over ten times the volume of daily searches for corgis when compared to this time last week”.

It added: “The prices asked for by registered corgi breeders have today hit a new high, with average asking prices doubling over the past three days.”

One of the small herding dogs now sells for over £2,500 ($2,678) for the first time, even outstripping prices reached during the pandemic, when demand spiked for four-legged companions.

The queen’s corgis were the most loyal of all the monarch’s servants, providing domestic companionship for nearly a century in the public glare.

The little, mainly sandy-coloured dogs with pointy ears were a busy presence in the queen’s court, following her from room to room and featuring in official photos.

They were even given a starring role in the spoof James Bond clip filmed with the queen for the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics.

The queen, whose funeral was last Monday, stopped raising corgis in her 90s so as not to leave them orphaned after her death.

Nevertheless, the queen still kept two “dorgis” – dachshund and corgi crosses – to keep her company in her final years.

“The queen was, amongst many things, a world-famous dog lover and really did symbolise the love and affection that our nation holds for their dogs,” Mark Beazley, Kennel Club chief executive, told AFP.

“She was especially known for her Welsh Pembroke Corgis after being gifted her first Corgi, Susan, by her father, King George VI when she was eighteen,” he added.

The queen was so fond of her corgis that she personally supervised their daily meal, according to “Pets by Royal Appointment”, by author Brian Hoey, a book on British royal pets since the 16th century.

The dogs’ dinners of fillet steak and chicken breast were prepared by a footman and served at 5:00 pm sharp every day, with the queen playing servant, pouring the gravy on the feast.


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Customs surpasses Q1 target, tackles smuggling, boosts trade facilitation measures This is cherry news for those in power, as the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) announced that it raked in a princely sum of ₦1.75 trillion in revenue during the first quarter of 2025. This figure, according to NCS, surpassed its quarterly target by ₦106.5 billion and marking a 29.96 per cent increase over Q1 2024. The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this on Tuesday, 22 April 2025, at a press briefing held at the Service Headquarters in Abuja. “These results substantiate our effective measures to curb revenue losses while streamlining compliant trade,” Adeniyi stated. “The 29.96 per cent annual increase and steady monthly collections confirm our strategy is working.” According to the CGC, January recorded the highest monthly collection at ₦647.88 billion, exceeding its target by 18.12 per cent and reflecting a 65.77 per cent increase compared to last year. February and March also recorded impressive performances, surpassing their targets and continuing the positive trend. In enforcement, the Service made 298 seizures worth ₦7.7 billion in Duty Paid Value (DPV). Items seized included 135,474 bags of rice, 65,819 litres of petroleum products, ₦730 million worth of narcotics, and wildlife products with a DPV of ₦5.6 billion. “From rice to wildlife, these seizures demonstrate our targeted approach,” the CGC said. “We remain committed to refining our enforcement strategies through intelligence-led operations, technological advancement, and strengthened inter-agency cooperation.” The Service also processed 327,928 import declarations—a 5.28 per cent increase over Q1 2024—representing goods with a total mass of nearly five billion kilograms and a CIF value of ₦14.8 trillion. Though export declarations decreased, export volumes surged by 348 per cent, indicating a shift towards bulk shipments. “This data clearly suggests Nigeria’s accelerating move towards bulk commodity exports,” Adeniyi noted, “while maintaining consistent total export value—reflecting both changing trade patterns and improved processing efficiency.” Highlighting key modernisation milestones, the CGC announced the continued roll-out of the locally developed B’Odogwu customs clearance platform and the launch of the Authorised Economic Operators (AEO) Programme, which provides expedited processing and reduced inspections for compliant traders. The Service also launched its Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, Customs Cares, supporting education, healthcare, and social welfare in communities nationwide. “Customs Cares represents a structured, scalable approach to community development—transforming corporate responsibility into tangible improvements,” the Customs Boss said. On food security, the CGC highlighted the Service’s role in implementing duty waivers on key staples, contributing to lower food prices nationwide. “This combination of current and past exemptions helps explain the steady improvement in food affordability. The benefits of duty relief emerge gradually but accumulate to make food more affordable,” he stated. Despite these achievements, challenges remain. The CGC pointed to exchange rate volatility, 62 recorded changes during the quarter, and ongoing non-compliance issues, particularly smuggling. “We continue to adapt our strategies to combat increasingly sophisticated smuggling networks,” he said. Looking ahead, the CGC reaffirmed the Service’s strategic focus on modernisation and enhanced service delivery. “We’re not just collecting figures—we’re shaping the future of trade and security in Nigeria,” he concluded. “The numbers show we’re delivering.”

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