House Panel Queries Customs Over ₦34tn Duty Waivers

The House of Representatives Committee on Finance has directed the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to submit a detailed breakdown of the estimated ₦34 trillion import duty waivers granted in 2025, including the beneficiaries, legal basis and purposes of the concessions.

The directive was issued during the appearance of the NCS management before the committee as part of the National Assembly’s ongoing revenue oversight exercise.

Chairman of the committee, James Faleke, said the lawmakers were not opposed to the Federal Government’s waiver policy but had a constitutional duty to ensure the concessions were granted transparently and achieved their intended objectives.

Faleke said the committee wanted details of the beneficiaries and evidence that the waivers had supported sectors such as agriculture and healthcare as intended.

He also queried discrepancies in the revenue figures presented by the Customs Service, despite the agency exceeding its annual collection targets.

According to him, the financial records failed to explain the sources of excess revenue generated above approved targets, stressing that the committee required a month-by-month breakdown of collections to properly assess the agency’s performance.

Deputy Chairman of the committee, Hon. Saidu Mohammed Abdullahi, urged the Federal Government to review upward the revenue targets assigned to Customs, arguing that the agency had consistently surpassed its annual projections.

He cited Customs’ revenue performance of ₦6.1 trillion against a ₦5 trillion target in 2024 and ₦7.2 trillion against about ₦6 trillion in 2025 as evidence that the agency had greater revenue-generating capacity.

Responding, Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, represented by the Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Finance, Administration and Technical Services, Kikelomo Adeola, said the Nigeria Customs Service does not approve import duty waivers but only implements approvals granted by the Federal Ministry of Finance in line with existing laws and government policy.

Adeola also advocated increased investment in inland dry ports by state governments, saying the facilities would decongest seaports, improve cargo clearance and boost trade facilitation.

She told lawmakers that Customs scanners were largely operational, with only a few undergoing repairs.

However, committee member, Ifeanyi Uzokwe called for sanctions against Customs officers whose negligence contributes to equipment failures or delays in cargo clearance.

The committee also directed the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to submit comprehensive records of all registered companies and businesses, including registration fees paid by each entity.

Lawmakers further queried the commission for failing to submit its audited financial statements to the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) since 2019 and directed it to reconcile its records with the commission.

A representative of the FRC told the committee that the CAC owed the Federal Government ₦13.9 billion in unremitted operating surplus.

In response, the Registrar-General of the CAC said the commission had begun reconciling its accounts with the FRC and agreed to liquidate the outstanding liability through quarterly payments of ₦500 million.

Oduyemi Odumade, Edited By Grace Namiji