Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Senate has officially approved an ambitious revenue target of N11.074 trillion for the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) for the 2026 fiscal year, while also endorsing a total expenditure of N1.295 trillion for the agency's operations. The approval, granted on Wednesday, 8 July 2026, followed the consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariffs, chaired by Senator Isah Jibrin Echocho, who praised the service for surpassing its 2025 revenue target despite significant challenges.
Presenting the report during plenary, Senator Jibrin highlighted the Customs Service's impressive performance in 2025, where it generated N7.277 trillion against a target of N6.584 trillion, exceeding the goal by N674.1 billion, representing a performance rate of 110.53 percent. This achievement, he noted, came despite fiscal policy measures that reduced potential collections, including the suspension of excise duty on telecommunications services, delayed implementation of the Green Tax, and import duty waivers on compressed natural gas (CNG) and electric vehicles, healthcare equipment, and industrial raw materials. The prolonged Russia-Ukraine conflict, which disrupted imports of strategic commodities such as wheat, also affected revenue inflows.
The approved 2026 revenue target of N11.074 trillion represents nearly double the 2025 target and is broken down into N5.542 trillion from Federation Account revenue, N1.491 trillion from non-Federation Account collections, N2.773 trillion from Import Value Added Tax (VAT), and N1.266 trillion from the four percent Free-on-Board (FOB) levy. The expenditure package of N1.295 trillion comprises N421 billion for personnel costs, N307 billion for overheads, and N565 billion for capital projects, with funding expected to come mainly from the statutory four percent FOB levy under the Nigerian Customs Service Act, 2023.
Defending the budget proposal before the committee earlier, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the service had generated N4.043 trillion in the first half of 2026 against a projected N5.5 trillion, attributing the shortfall largely to the crisis in the Middle East, particularly the disruption around the Strait of Hormuz, which reduced cargo throughput into Nigerian ports. "The major challenge confronting us today is the crisis around the Strait of Hormuz. It has disrupted global supply chains and reduced cargo throughput into Nigerian ports," Adeniyi stated. He expressed optimism that as the situation continues to de-escalate, international trade would recover, and the service would meet its annual target by December 2026. June recorded the highest monthly revenue of the year, and the trend is expected to continue.
Despite the challenges, Adeniyi expressed confidence in achieving the N11.074 trillion target, anchored on ongoing reforms including the full deployment of the indigenous Unified Customs Information System (UCIS), codenamed B'Odogwu, enhanced post-clearance audit operations, intelligence-led anti-smuggling efforts, and expanded trade facilitation measures. "Our technology platform is now stable and fully operational. It has strengthened automation across our commands, improved compliance and enhanced revenue collection," he said. He also informed lawmakers that the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) recently rated the Nigeria Customs Service as the country's most improved government agency in trade facilitation and ease of doing business.
Senator Jibrin, in presenting the committee's report, noted that the service's 2025 performance would have been stronger but for the suspension of telecoms excise duty, healthcare production incentives, and global trade disruptions from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which reduced imports. On expenditure, he disclosed that although the Customs Service had an approved 2025 budget of about N1.132 trillion, actual spending stood at N591 billion, with capital expenditure affected by delays in approvals by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and the Federal Executive Council (FEC), resulting in several projects being rolled over to 2026.
The Senate Committee commended the Customs leadership for its reforms, describing them as instrumental in strengthening revenue generation, enhancing anti-smuggling operations, and improving trade facilitation. The committee expressed confidence in the modernisation initiatives under Adeniyi's leadership, which have already begun to yield results through the deployment of technology, strengthened revenue recovery mechanisms, real-time systems audits, and improved trade facilitation. With the approval now secured, the Customs Service is expected to intensify its revenue drive, leveraging technology and enhanced enforcement measures to meet the N11.074 trillion target by the end of the year.
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