By Stephen Ubanna
When the Senate on Customs under the close watch of Isah Jibrin, set a revenue target of N12 billion for the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, under the Leadership of Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, for the 025, Fiscal year on the excuse that the service could generate such amount based on data, not many people took them seriously.
However, the Federal Government later discarded this ambitious projection, setting a more “realistic” revenue target of N6.58 trillion, sending a strong message that expectations needed to be tempered.
The NCS, under Comptroller General Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, may have assumed the matter was settled but got it wrong. Unknown them the House Committee on Customs which had visited the Headquarters and the Customs Formations at various times as part of it oversight functions.
At the Customs Headquarters, in 2024, the CGC, had given his word that the Service will submit wholeheartedly to Legislative Compliance, implement Legislative resolutions in its day-to-day operation. Based on the assurance of the Committee to fast- track debate on its autonomy.
The Committee wants to place NCS to in the league of the Nigerianal Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, now baptized Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, with the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, by the National Assembly and signed into Law, by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
It was not surprising why the Customs Comptroller General had told the Committee that their recommendations are crucial to ‘’its efforts to streamline their processes to improve on its efficiency and block areas of revenue Leakages.
Uknown to the Customs Management Team and he Area Controllers, who are under intense pressure to meet their 2025, revenue targets, the Senators, who are working closely with the House Committee on Customs have prepared the ground to revisit the revenue target issue.
The opportunity came during the 2025, budget defense. Bello Jibo, a Deputy Comptroller General, who had appeared before the Committee to seek approval for its N6.58 trln and expenditure profile of N1.132 trillion may have had rough shod with the Lawmakers who were out to humble him.
The Committee members who were said to have grilled DCG. Jibo, did not hesitate in telling him to take a message to the Management Team ‘’to raise the Service current revenue estimate of N.658 billion to N10 trillion’’.
The Committee had cited the urgent need for the increase in Customs’ 2025, revenue target ‘’for enhanced enforcement and surveillance amid rising smuggling and insecurity challenges across the country’’.
The Senate Committee had frowned upon the lack of enforcement of a 4% freight on Free on Board, FOB, which is the cost of goods by the service which could have boosted its revenue. The Committee members may have been shocked when the Customs DCG, stated clearly that there is no way the service could collect such revenue because of the drop in the volume of cargo traffic into the nation’s seaports and Land border areas.
He noted that without halting the collecting the 4% tariff on freight on FOB goods, which was at the instance of the Wale Edun, the minister of Finance and National Planning and Coordinating minister of the Economy, there is no way the Service could the N10 trillion for the government just as it is struggling to meet the N6.58.
The minister may have taken the bold initiative to halt further collection of the levy because the Leadership which could no longer accommodate the incessant levies paid by its members to the NCS, to boost its revenue collection for the government and the worsening business environment in Nigeria had threatened ‘’divesting or relocating businesses to neigbouring Republic of Benin, Ghana and other countries in the West and Central African subregions which are conducive for their business.
Unhappy, with the action of the minister to halt the collection of the 4% tariff on freight on FOB, may have encouraged the Committee to invite the minister to appear before it on Thursday, June 26, 2025, ‘’to give explanations on the suspension of the 4%freight charges, which they claimed was an ‘’infraction of the Lw’.
The Lawmakers who after pushing Nigerian Traders to the wall to make money for the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Administration were said to have prepared barrage of questions for the minister and some key stakeholders, who would also before them to answer ‘’ to ensure accountability, revenue optimization and national security enforcement with existing Legislative frameworks’’.
At present with the exception of the Apapa Command, which Area Controller, Comptroller, Compt. Babatunde Olomu, has successfully blocked Areas of Revenue Leakage that the fraudulent importers who are used to doing dirty jobs have fallen in line to do the right thing by making correct declaration and paying appropriate duties.
At the Tin-Can Island Command, where Compt. Frank Okechukwu Onyeka, calls the shout and who had introduced some reforms that had increased the compliance of the traders to the Federal Government Fiscal policies, it is not rosy. The Customers Comptroller, who had said the one of the challenges he had inherited at the Command was lack of compliance to government policies confirmed that it has improved tremendously.
He had revealed that importers with their agents who have their cargoes on the ‘’ref list’’re treated differently from those whose cargoes are on” the invite list” who are made to go through the cargo surveillance to showcase , that what is declared on the bill of lading, are the same to what is in the Container.
For such importers, they have no problem, as they take delivery of their goods with ease. He may have stepped up the Command revenue with the issuance of Debit Note, which has become his hallmark, even as a one-time Deputy Comptroller at the Port of Onne, Tin-can Island and Apapa exit gates, where billions of naira, which could have entered into private pockets were recovered.
Although, the Command has a revenue target of N1.5 trillion to pay into the Federation Account, this year, an indication that it ought to pay N750 billion, into the government coffers in the first half of the year. The Customs Comptroller had said that the Command is working round the clock to hit the target. An insider informed The Value News Magazine that as at June 24, 2025, the Command had collected and paid into the Consolidated Government Revenue Account the sum of about N689.46 billion.
The tin-can Island, Area Controller, who had beamed his searchlight at the Valuation unit and exit gate, is determined to ensure that the right thing is done by the officers. Given that the Apapa and Tin-Can Island, are the two major heavy sources of the Service, may have informed why the CGC, is very much interested in what is happening at these two Commands on a daily basis using his informants and to compare notes with monthly reports of the Area Comptrollers. The CGC, knows that any drop in the revenue performance of the two high profile Commands will drastically affect Service projected yearly revenue collection.
Notwithstanding moves by members of the Senate Committee Customs to have their way to increase the Service 2025, revenue target to N10 billion, Sentor Jibril, who could not take decision unilaterally had put it to vote but the N6.58 billion and the N1.132 trln, expenditure profile was said to have been unanimously agreed , which was said to have given the CGC and the Area Controllers, particular, those deployed to the seaports a breather to sustain the tempo of their revenue drive without further tasking them.
