The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, has said the service recorded an unprecedented revenue of N1.3 trillion in the first quarter of 2025 due to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reforms.
Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi attributed this remarkable growth to transformative reforms under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, as revealed in an upcoming State House documentary marking the President’s second anniversary.
In a statement on Saturday by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga, the Q1 2025 revenue more than doubled the N600 billion collected during the same period in 2023.
“We collected N1.3 trillion in Q1 2025 alone. This is not due to higher import volumes. Imports have dropped due to foreign exchange constraints. What has changed is efficiency, transparency, and enforcement,” the comptroller general said.
Quoting the CG, the statement disclosed that Customs is preparing to launch the E-Customs Modernisation Project, a $3.2 billion initiative aimed at digitising cargo processing, surveillance, and payment systems across Nigeria’s ports and borders.
“We’re laying the foundation to move from a manual, paper-based system to a fully digital service. The E-Customs Project is central to our future. Once fully deployed, we project it will add $250 billion in cumulative revenue over 20 years,” he said.
The Customs CG confirmed that the service has intensified its anti-smuggling operations and closed long-standing revenue leakages.
He said over N64 billion was recovered from previously under-assessed or undervalued imports in the last nine months, and major smuggling rings at the Seme, Idiroko, Katsina, and Sokoto borders have been dismantled.
He said the new joint border patrol task forces established in coordination with the Nigerian Army, DSS, and Police have also yielded positive results.
“We’re no longer just chasing smugglers in the bush. We’re using data, surveillance drones, and port intelligence to act in real-time. Once systemic leakages are now being plugged,” Adeniyi said.
“Right now, you deal with up to 15 agencies manually. With the Single Window, you’ll do it all online, in one place. This will slash clearance time and costs,” the CG explained, adding that clearance timelines at Apapa and Tin Can Ports have already dropped from 21 days to 7–10 days for compliant importers.
The Comptroller-General said the agency has introduced fast-track lanes for agro-exports and is working with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) to streamline outbound cargo processes in line with the government’s push for non-oil exports.
“We’re promoting exports aggressively. Last year, Nigeria exported over ₦340 billion worth of solid minerals and agro commodities through formal channels, up by 38 percent. We’re targeting even more in 2025,” he said.
DAILY POST reports that in April 2025, Customs announced that it achieved N1.75 in revenue in Q1 2025.
