Customs revenue hits N4.49trn, surges 74% in one year

Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi, who marked his one-year anniversary in office on Wednesday, said that under his leadership he has generated a total of N4.49 trillion in revenue, surpassing the 2023 target by 74%.

Celebrating a remarkable milestone in revenue generation, he attributed it to improved enforcement, enhanced automation, and strengthened stakeholder engagement.

CGC Adeniyi disclosed this in Abuja, at the press briefing to commemorate his one year in office. He expressed his gratitude to the officers and men of the NCS for their dedication and hard work.

Adeniyi said: “The NCS reported a remarkable 74% growth in revenue collection over the past year, recording a total revenue collection of N4.49 trillion between June 2023 and May 2024, compared to the N2.58 trillion collected during the corresponding period of the previous year.

“This achievement was underpinned by a sustained increase of 70.13% in average monthly revenue collection compared to the previous year. NCS recorded an average monthly revenue collection of N343 billion, compared to the N202 billion monthly average. Notably, there was a substantial 122.35% rise in revenue collection during the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in the previous year. These gains were attributed to various strategic initiatives.

“N15 billion recovery by the revenue review performance recovery exercise, N2.79 billion recovered from the 90-day window for the regularisation of the documents of uncustomed vehicles.

“N1.5 billion recovered from the decongestion of 1,705 overtime containers and 981 vehicles from the port, It is also worthy to note that on June 13, 2024, NCS recorded a daily All-Time-High of N58.5 billion in revenue collection, The deployment of officers to sensitive posts on the basis of merit and capacity.”

Speaking on the trade facilitation, he said that significant achievements have been made by the decongestion of ports and the reopening of previously inaccessible access roads.

He also acknowledged the support of the federal government and stakeholders in the industry, he noted that the service’s recent ranking under the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), which aims to streamline business operations in Nigeria through reforms and policies. Ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) are ranked by activities under eight broad indicator levels.

He added, “Between 2020 and 2022, the NCS maintained an average percentage score of 18.45%, ranking 28th out of the 37 MDAs ranked. By 2023, the NCS ranking fell further to 34th out of 39 MDAs, with a percentage score of 18.53%. However, by 2024, I am delighted to announce that the NCS moved up 33 places, now tied at the top with 4 other MDAs out of the 36 MDAs assessed, with a percentage score of 100%, marking an 81.5% increase.

“This remarkable improvement is directly attributed to the trade facilitation measures implemented within the past year. The NCS remains committed to ensuring that all recommendations and global best practices are implemented to the highest standard.

“The designation of a dedicated terminal for exports has yielded significant gains, facilitating the processing of export goods through the Lilypond command. Initially handling 317 Single Goods Declarations (SGDs) in transactions, the terminal now manages 7,464 SGDs, accounting for 19.49% of the total 38,294 export transactions recorded in 2023. By the first quarter of 2024, the Service had processed a total of 10,786 transactions, with 3,162 (29.32%) of these processed through the dedicated export terminal.”

He also said that the service is committed to safeguarding Nigeria’s national security and would continue its efforts to stamp out smugglers and economic saboteurs.

He further noted that the service recorded 63 seizures related to animal and wildlife products valued at ₦566 million. Additionally, seven seizures of arms and ammunition were made through our ports and borders.

In terms of illicit drugs, a combined total of 127 cases involving narcotics and pharmaceutical products were seized, valued at over ₦6 billion.