The House of Representatives Committee on Finance has directed the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to submit a comprehensive breakdown of the approximately ₦34 trillion worth of import duty waivers granted in 2025, including the beneficiaries, the legal basis for the concessions and the purposes for which they were approved.
The directive was issued by the Chairman of the Committee, Mr James Faleke, when the management of the Nigeria Customs Service appeared before the panel as part of the National Assembly’s ongoing revenue monitoring and oversight exercise.
Mr Faleke stressed that while the Committee was not opposed to the Federal Government’s waiver policy, lawmakers had a constitutional responsibility to ensure that such concessions were granted transparently and served the national interest.
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According to him, the Committee seeks details of the beneficiaries and whether the waivers achieved the objectives for which they were approved.
“Waiver is good. It is not a bad thing to grant waivers. But we want to know those who benefited from the waivers and the purpose for which they were granted. It is understandable if waivers are granted for medical and agricultural products.
“If waivers are granted, they should support economic growth. For instance, waivers on agricultural products are expected to reduce the cost of food. Therefore, we are not against waivers, but we want to know the beneficiaries of this ₦34 trillion waiver,” Faleke said.
The Committee also questioned the Nigeria Customs Service over what it described as inconsistencies in its revenue reporting, despite the agency surpassing its annual revenue targets.
Mr Faleke observed that although Customs recorded impressive revenue collections, the financial records presented to the Committee did not adequately explain the sources of the excess revenue generated above the approved targets.
He maintained that proper accountability required a detailed month-by-month explanation of the agency’s revenue performance.
“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 explained how the excess revenue you are reporting was generated.
“I can see that in some months you under-report revenue collection, while in other months you exceed your projections. We want to know what accounts for these variations. You need to provide these details to enable us properly assess your performance.”
The Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Mr Saidu Mohammed Abdullahi, argued that the Federal Government should raise the revenue targets assigned to its agencies, particularly revenue-generating institutions such as the Nigeria Customs Service.
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According to him, the Service has consistently exceeded its annual revenue targets, indicating that its revenue generation capacity is significantly higher.
“I personally believe they can generate more than the targets we set for them.
“I think we are not challenging them enough. That is why they continue to record excess revenue. In 2024, they were given a target of ₦5 trillion and generated ₦6.1 trillion. In 2025, the target was about ₦6 trillion, yet they generated ₦7.2 trillion. I believe that if we set higher targets, they can achieve even more.”
Waiver Approvals
Responding to the lawmakers’ concerns, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, represented by the Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Finance, Administration and Technical Services, Mrs Kikelomo Adeola, clarified that the Nigeria Customs Service does not approve import duty waivers.
She explained that the Service only implements waiver approvals granted by the Federal Ministry of Finance in accordance with existing laws and government policy.
On trade facilitation, Mrs Adeola advocated the establishment of inland dry ports across the country, describing them as critical infrastructure that would reduce congestion at the nation’s seaports and improve cargo clearance.
She urged state governments to invest in such facilities to support economic development.
“I encourage all state governments to invest in inland dry ports. They will have a significant impact on our operations. Any cargo designated for an inland dry port will not be delayed at the seaport.
“Containers will be transported directly to the inland port for examination. This will reduce pressure on the nation’s seaports and improve trade facilitation across the states.”
Addressing concerns over delays in cargo clearance, Mrs Adeola informed the Committee that Customs scanners were largely operational, except for a few units currently undergoing repairs.
However, a member of the Committee, Mr Ifeanyi Uzokwe, called on the Customs management to sanction officers responsible for operating the scanners whenever negligence contributes to equipment failures or operational delays.
Meanwhile, the Committee also turned its attention to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), directing the agency to submit comprehensive records of all companies and businesses registered in Nigeria, including the registration fees paid by each entity.
Lawmakers further queried the Commission over its failure to submit its audited financial statements to the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), as required by law, since 2019.
The Committee consequently directed the CAC to immediately reconcile its records with the Fiscal Responsibility Commission.
A representative of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission informed lawmakers that the Corporate Affairs Commission owed the Federal Government ₦13.9 billion in unremitted operating surplus accumulated over several years.
Responding, the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission disclosed that the agency had commenced reconciliation with the Fiscal Responsibility Commission and had agreed to liquidate the outstanding liability through quarterly payments of ₦500 million.
