A coalition of 259 Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria have advised President Bola Tinubu to replicate the innovative revenue generation and collection systems applied by the Nigeria Customs Service in other government agencies.
The CSOs under the aegis of the Coalition for Transparency and Economic Reforms (COTER) gave the advice in a statement jointly signed by its President, Dr Peter Chima Chukwu and General Secretary, Mallam Auta Ibrahim Koko.
The Civil Society body also urged the President to consider “merit, proven capacity, integrity and productivity” as important criteria when picking a new Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service to succeed the outgoing CG, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, as he proceeds on his retirement from service.
“With the incumbent CGC due to retire in the next few months, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu must ensure that the appointment of his successor is strictly based on merit, proven capacity and integrity, so as to upscale the current revenue target,” the statement reads.
While pointing out the achievements of the outgoing Comptroller General especially in generating revenue from 3 seaports in the country, the Civil Society Organisations emphasised the need to appoint a new leader for the service that can sustain and increase the achievements.
“The Apapa, Tin Can and Onne Area Commands have continued to record groundbreaking feats in the history of the almost one and a half century old Nigeria Customs Service due to the reforms embarked upon by the President Bola Tinubu-led administration and the Controller General of the NCS, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi. We commend the present administration for these landmark achievements and call for further reforms to enhance revenue generation by the various collecting agencies. This, indeed, is highly commendable.
“It is apt at this juncture to be specific on some of the revenue collection feats already recorded by the Apapa Area Command of the NCS. In the third quarter of 2024, the Apapa Port Command reported a revenue collection of N1.61trillion. This figure surpassed the N1.17trillion revenue collected in 2023.
“This feat can be attributed to diligence and integrity as well as the command’s commitment to collaborating with stakeholders to enhance revenue collection and check smuggling. In the first quarter of 2025, the same command generated a whopping N1.75trillion, surpassing its target by N106.5billion.
“This is a significant milestone and monumental achievement recorded even before the completion of the first half of 2025. This is a clear indication that the Command is set to surpass the N2.3trillion revenue collected before the end of December 2024.
“Similarly, the Tin Can Island Port collected a total revenue of N1trillion within the same period while Onne generated about N600billion.
“This remarkable feat boldly underscores the unrelenting efforts of these Commands to continue to boost revenue generation and enhance trade facilitation. These proactive strategies and efficient operations of the Commands have continued to yield impressive results, which have positioned them as major contributors to the nation’s economic growth,” he added.
Hauwa Abu