Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Senate has threatened to sanction several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for failing to honour invitations to its ongoing investigation into the remittance of internally generated revenue and operating surplus into the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), while also ordering the Nigeria Customs Service to submit updated audited accounts within one week.
The Senate Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Sani Musa (APC, Niger East), warned that agencies including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) and Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi, risk legislative sanctions if they fail to appear at subsequent hearings. The committee also warned that persistent defaulters could be reported to President Bola Tinubu for administrative action.
The warning came during an investigative hearing into the Federal Government's issuance of Import Duty Exemption Certificates (IDECs) valued at about N34 trillion between March 2020 and December 2025. Senator Musa said the probe was aimed at ensuring accountability in the management of public resources and assessing whether fiscal incentives granted by the Federal Government had achieved their intended economic objectives.
Appearing before the committee, Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that import duty waivers approved under the IDEC scheme rose to about N34 trillion by 2025. He explained that nearly 60 per cent of the waivers covered military hardware imported to strengthen Nigeria's security architecture, while other beneficiaries included imports of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, medical equipment, industrial machinery, manufacturing inputs and food commodities under government intervention programmes. Adeniyi argued that duty waivers were deliberate fiscal policy measures intended to support national security, economic growth and social development rather than simply reduce government revenue.
The Customs boss also presented the agency's revenue performance over the past four years. According to him, the Service generated N3.2 trillion in 2023 against a target of N3.67 trillion, representing an eight per cent shortfall, largely due to disruptions in global trade arising from the Russia-Ukraine war and instability in the Middle East. He said Customs rebounded in 2024 by generating N6.1 trillion, exceeding its target of N5.079 trillion by more than 20 per cent. In 2025, the Service generated N7.2 trillion against a target of N6.584 trillion, while N4.5 trillion had been realised between January and June 2026 out of an annual target of N11 trillion.
The committee also questioned the Federal Government's decision to reduce duties on imported vehicles, leading Senator Adams Oshiomhole to warn that lowering tariffs on fairly used vehicles could cripple Nigeria's local automobile assembly industry. Adeniyi responded that Customs only implements policy, adding that the policy was introduced to make vehicles more affordable for Nigerians facing severe economic hardship.
The hearing also highlighted that the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) admitted to an N13.9 billion unremitted operating surplus, while the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) was summoned to appear before the committee. The Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) also revealed that Customs had not submitted audited financial statements, a development that drew sharp criticism from lawmakers. The committee insisted that all revenue-generating agencies must submit to full transparency, warning that weak remittances and opaque accounting are eroding public confidence in fiscal governance.
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