By Balarabe Oshiafi
With seven weeks to the end of 2024, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has already generated the N5.07trillion revenue target allocated to the service by the Federal Government.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Bashir Adeniyi stated this on Wednesday in his opening speech at the Comptroller Generals Conference holding in Abuja. He said the service achieved the feat through strategic engagements and collaborative approaches in delivering its core statutory responsibilities.
In his words, “I am pleased to announce that yesterday 12 November 2024, at exactly 13:10 Hrs, the Nigeria Customs Service hit its 2024 revenue target of NGN 5.07 trillion, with more than a month remaining in the fiscal year. This exceptional performance projected to exceed our target by 10% validates our partnership-driven approach to revenue collection and trade facilitation. The achievement is not merely about numbers; it demonstrates how enhanced stakeholder collaboration, improved processes, and modernized systems can deliver tangible results for our nation’s economy.
While thanking President Bola Tinubu for his support, the CGC said the Service’s pledge at the beginning of the year was comprehensive but ambitious, which included modernizing Customs processes through a one-stop solution for cargo alerts, revolutionizing ICT infrastructure, streamlining examination procedures, and embracing automation for enhanced effiefficiency.
Continuing, CGC Adeniyi said, “We committed to reimagining our free trade zone operations, elevating cargo integrity standards, and expanding our scanning capabilities. Above all, we promised to usher in a new era of customs operations.
“Our commitment to trade facilitation has garnered significant recognition and yielded measurable results. The Service’s leap of 33 places upward in the PEBEC rankings, placing us among the top five agencies in trade facilitation, reflects the impact of our reform initiatives. This improvement goes beyond metrics, it represents real changes in how we facilitate trade across borders. We have expanded our focus beyond traditional import operations to actively support exporters and nurture small and medium scale enterprises.
“The AfCFTA Secretariat’s recognition of our innovative approaches led to an invitation to share Nigeria’s experience at the prestigious Biashara Afrika forum in Kigali last month. This recognition culminated in a historic milestone – Nigeria’s first shipment under the African Continental Free Trade Area agreement, marking our country’s practical commitment to continental trade integration”.
In the area of trade facilitation and Anti Smuggling, the Customs boss said the service under his leadership expanded the frontiers of its engagement both within and beyond Nigeria’s borders, saying, “This past year has seen us not only consolidating existing partnerships but also forging new alliances crucial to our mission. We have deliberately repositioned the Nigeria Customs Service brand, emphasizing our commitment to trade facilitation and demonstrating a more nuanced application of our authority in executing our statutory responsibilities”.
Through extensive stakeholder enlightenment programs, he said the agency has opened windows into its operations, fostering better understanding of Customs procedures and requirements.
“This renewed approach to partnership has led to the strengthening of existing agreements and the establishment of new ones, all aimed at creating a more collaborative and efficient trading environment”. The CGC noted.
