The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is projecting a ten per cent increase in its 2025 revenue, its comptroller-general, Adewale Adeniyi, has said. The NCS’ boss disclosed this in his remarks at the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC) Conference on Thursday in Abuja. He said the NCS has met its targets across all boards but would continue to strive to achieve greater heights. The CG, on Wednesday, announced that the service had hit its revenue target of N5.1 trillion on Tuesday, with more than a month remaining in the fiscal year. Mr Adeniyi, however, said it would be difficult to calculate the revenue for 2025, as revenue for 2024 may hit N6 trillion. ” We are likely to take this revenue to N6 trillion,” said Mr Adeniyi. “While our achievements this year have been remarkable, with performance exceeding the target across all boards, we must guide against complacency.” He said NCS was strengthening its free trade zone operations through key initiatives, including implementing strict operating procedures for monitoring mechanisms.
In response to feedback from stakeholders, he said customs was making remarkable upgrades to its infrastructure to reduce the number of checkpoints across major trade corridors. He said the move involved deploying technology and intelligence in its operations to replace random checks. “I am happy to announce that our scanning capacity is set for significant enhancements under our new concessionaire. The service, through the concessionary Trade Modernisation Project, will acquire 67 scanners with an initial delivery of six before the end of 2024,” he said. The customs boss urged participants of the conference to engage with Nigeria’s trade policy review, which was released in Geneva on Tuesday and published on the World Trade Organisation website. He explained that the document would provide valuable insights into the progress of the NCS, adding that their understanding and feedback will enhance their contributions to the recommendations they will propose at the conference (NAN)