The House of Representatives Committee on Finance has directed the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to provide a detailed breakdown of the estimated ₦34 trillion worth of import duty waivers, quering its revenue reporting
The House of Representatives Committee on Finance has directed the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to provide a detailed breakdown of the estimated ₦34 trillion worth of import duty waivers granted in 2025, including the identities of beneficiaries, the legal basis for the approvals and the objectives the concessions were meant to achieve.
The directive was issued on Wednesday during the appearance of the management of the Nigeria Customs Service before the committee as part of the National Assembly’s ongoing revenue oversight and monitoring exercise.
Chairman of the Committee, Rep. James Abiodun Faleke, said the lawmakers were not opposed to the government’s policy of granting import duty waivers but insisted that Parliament had a constitutional responsibility to ensure such concessions were transparent, justified and in the national interest.
He said the committee wanted to ascertain who benefited from the waivers and whether they delivered the intended economic outcomes.
“Waiver is good. It is not a bad thing to grant waiver. But we want to know those who benefited from the waiver and the purpose for such waiver. It is okay if you grant waiver on medical and agricultural products.
“If you grant waiver, it is aimed at helping the economy to grow. For example, if you grant waiver on agricultural products, it is aimed at reducing the cost of food. So, we are not against waiver. But we want to know the beneficiaries of this ₦34 trillion waiver,” Rep. Faleke said.
The committee also questioned discrepancies in the Customs Service’s revenue reporting despite the agency consistently surpassing its annual revenue targets.
Faleke observed that while Customs recorded impressive collections, the financial documents submitted to lawmakers did not sufficiently explain the sources of the additional revenue generated beyond approved projections.
He urged the agency to provide a detailed month-by-month analysis of its revenue performance to enhance accountability.
“We are not going to applaud your efforts now because your account books are not balanced. We know that you want to be transparent, but you have not told us how the excess money you are reporting came about.
“I can see that in some months, you under-declare your revenue collection and in other months, you overshoot the collection. We want to know what is responsible for this. You have to provide these little details that will help us properly assess your performance,” he said.
Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Saidu Mohammed Abdullahi, argued that the Federal Government should set more ambitious revenue targets for agencies such as the Nigeria Customs Service, given its consistent record of exceeding expectations.
“I personally believe that they can do more than the target we give to them.
“I think we are not pushing them enough. That is why they will always come up with excesses. In 2024, you were given a target of ₦5 trillion and you generated ₦6.1 trillion. In 2025, you were given a target of about ₦6 trillion and you generated ₦7.2 trillion. I believe that if we push you enough, you can do better,” he said.
Responding to the lawmakers, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, who was represented by the Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Finance, Administration and Technical Services, Kikelomo Adeola, clarified that the Nigeria Customs Service does not approve import duty waivers.
She explained that the waivers are granted by the Federal Ministry of Finance in line with existing laws and government policy, while Customs is only responsible for implementing the approvals.
Adeola also advocated greater investment in inland dry ports across the country, describing them as critical infrastructure for easing congestion at seaports and improving cargo clearance.
“I will encourage all state governments to invest in inland dry ports. That will have a lot of impact on our operations. Any cargo that is marked for such inland port will not be delayed at the main port.
“The container will be transported directly to the inland port where it will be examined. That will reduce the pressure at the nation’s ports and increase trade facilitation in the states,” she said.
On concerns over delays in cargo examination, Adeola informed the committee that most Customs scanners were operational, with only a few currently undergoing repairs.
However, a member of the committee, Rep. Ifeanyi Uzokwe, urged the Customs management to sanction officers whose negligence leads to equipment breakdowns or delays in cargo clearance.
CAC Queried Over Unremitted Surplus
The committee also scrutinised the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), directing the agency to submit a comprehensive database of all registered companies and businesses in Nigeria, including the registration fees paid by each entity.
Lawmakers further faulted the commission for failing to submit its audited financial statements to the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) since 2019, contrary to statutory requirements.
The committee directed the CAC to immediately reconcile its financial records with the Fiscal Responsibility Commission.
A representative of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission told lawmakers that the CAC owed the Federal Government ₦13.9 billion in unremitted operating surplus accumulated over several years.
Responding, the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission said the agency had begun reconciling its records with the FRC and had agreed to clear the outstanding liability through quarterly payments of ₦500 million.
