Donatus Eleko
At a time when Nigeria’s public funds stay below extreme pressure, non-oil income has change into more and more crucial to sustaining authorities operations throughout the federation. With crude oil earnings fluctuating and manufacturing challenges persisting, consideration has shifted to businesses whose efficiency now carries broader macroeconomic significance.
Inside this context, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has emerged as a central pillar within the nation’s evolving income structure. Past its conventional function of border management and commerce facilitation, the Service has assumed heightened fiscal significance as the federal government seeks to plug widening finances gaps and stabilize public finance inflows.
Latest figures underscore this altering dynamic. The NCS remitted about N3.7 trillion to the Federation Account between January and November 2025, reflecting each elevated commerce exercise and extra aggressive income assortment measures. The inflows highlighted the rising weight of customs and excise revenues at a time when oil receipts stay weak.
The event indicators a broader shift in Nigeria’s fiscal dialog, which is one which locations larger emphasis on effectivity, enforcement, and institutional efficiency inside revenue-generating businesses. As Customs strengthens its contribution to the Federation Account, questions are additionally rising about sustainability, reforms and the long-term function of trade-based income in supporting nationwide growth.
The Nigeria Customs Service performs an important function within the nation’s financial framework, serving as a gatekeeper for income assortment and nationwide safety on the borders. Since assuming workplace, the Comptroller-Normal of Customs (CGC), Adewale Adeniyi, has spearheaded a wave of institutional transformation, mixing professionalism with innovation to modernise Customs operations and reposition the company as a crucial enabler of financial development.
Beneath Adeniyi’s watch, the NCS has witnessed vital enhancements in commerce facilitation, income era, and border safety. His emphasis on digitisation, transparency, and compliance has helped shut loopholes, improve effectivity, and enhance stakeholder confidence within the company’s processes.
Particularly, information from the most recent presentation made to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) indicated that complete collections for the primary 11 months of final 12 months stood at about N3.697 trillion, reflecting efficiency anchored largely on import duties, which continued to account for the majority of inflows.
The determine positioned customs as some of the dependable non-oil income contributors in 2025, at a time the federal government is pushing aggressive fiscal reforms to shore up revenues and slim the finances deficit.
Nevertheless, for your complete 12 months in 2024, the NCS’ complete federation remittance was N3.6 trillion. Which means if the 2025 development continued in December, different issues being equal, remittances to the federation alone could have hit N4 trillion.
“The whole 2024 income collected includes three major elements. The primary was the federation accounts and we had about N3.6 trillion. The second was the non-federation accounts levies the place we had N816.9 billion and the third element was the value-added tax the place we collected N1.6 trillion,” Adeniyi, mentioned whereas giving a breakdown of the 2024 operations in January 2025.
An evaluation of the most recent figures confirmed that import obligation alone contributed roughly N3.03 trillion through the interval, representing greater than 81 per cent of complete customs income. This dominance highlighted Nigeria’s heavy dependence on imports for consumption and industrial inputs, whilst policymakers reiterate commitments to import substitution, native manufacturing and export growth.
In addition to, excise obligation adopted distantly, producing about N257.5 billion; Widespread Exterior Tariff (CET) particular levy was N252.4 billion whereas different income traces made comparatively marginal contributions. As an example, charges constituted N158.6 billion whereas public sale gross sales raked in N82.5 billion. There have been no penalty fees through the interval below assessment.
The info indicated that customs collections had been comparatively strong throughout most months, with January opening the 12 months strongly at about N400.3 billion, the best month-to-month influx recorded throughout the interval into account.
This early surge set the tone for the 12 months and mirrored a mix of trade fee changes, increased customs valuation of imports and improved enforcement on the ports and border posts. February recorded N299.5 billion; March posted N283.4 billion whereas April was N358 billion.
In Might, complete income paid into the federation account was N359.4 billion; N315.29 billion in June; N353.23 billion in July; N322 billion was recorded in August; N349 billion in September whereas October and November additionally recorded performances of N370.2 billion and N287.1 billion respectively, underscoring the volatility however total resilience of income flows.
Excise obligation collections accounted for just below seven per cent of complete income, charges contributed roughly 4.3 per cent of complete receipts, whereas public sale gross sales generated simply over 2 per cent and CET accounted for practically 7 per cent of the full, reinforcing the significance of regional commerce preparations in Nigeria’s customs income profile.
A part of the presentation through the hybrid assembly held on December 11 and 12, confirmed that:” The gathering of N287,174,969,532.50 in November 2025 accounts for 89.43 per cent of the 2025 month-to-month finances of N321,116,460,253.23.
He added: “That is attributable to the lower within the quantity of dutiable imported items, excisable items, charges and CET levies within the month into account. The gathering for November 2025 is decrease than the October 2025 income assortment of N370,281,129,180.31 by N33,941,490,720.73 or 22.44.”
Commenting on the feat, Adeniyi mentioned no fashionable safety or income operation can succeed with out well timed, credible and well-applied intelligence, including that these stay crucial to the success of recent customs operations.
Adeniyi referenced current international and home safety developments, notably army and safety interventions throughout completely different areas, together with the interception of arms and ammunition throughout the nation.
The CGC famous that intelligence remained the frequent thread behind each profitable army or paramilitary operation, stressing that customs officers should admire its worth past idea.
Beneath his watch, the NCS has additionally intensified efforts to modernise its programs—increasing digitalisation, bettering threat administration, and emphasising intelligence-led operations. These initiatives will not be solely aimed toward bettering effectivity but additionally at aligning Nigeria with the requirements required for full AfCFTA participation.
Adeniyi’s technique goes past inner reforms because it contains constructing partnerships with regional customs our bodies, strengthening Nigeria’s presence in AfCFTA technical committees, and advocating for a extra central function for Customs in continental commerce negotiations. His strategy indicators a departure from the previous mannequin the place customs administrations had been handled as mere income collectors reasonably than strategic drivers of financial competitiveness.
Adeniyi, who in July final 12 months assumed the place of the Chairperson of the World Customs Organisation (WCO) Council, the governing physique of the organisation, comprising the Heads of 186 Customs administrations, …
In all, the NCS’s efficiency underscores the crucial function of non-oil income sources in stabilising Nigeria’s public funds at a time when oil earnings stay unstable. The dimensions of remittances displays enhancements in customs administration, enhanced compliance, and the affect of ongoing reforms aimed toward plugging leakages and broadening the income base.
Past the figures, the rising contribution of customs income highlights the significance of commerce facilitation, environment friendly border administration and technology-driven processes in driving sustainable fiscal outcomes. As international and home financial uncertainties persist, strengthening establishments such because the NCS turns into central to cushioning authorities funds and funding important public providers.
Going ahead, sustaining this momentum will rely on deepening reforms, balancing income mobilisation with commerce competitiveness, and sustaining transparency and accountability. If consolidated, the positive factors recorded by the NCS may additional reposition non-oil income as a dependable pillar of Nigeria’s fiscal resilience.
