The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has revealed staggering losses amounting to N1.3 trillion in 2023, attributing the substantial decline in revenue to waivers and concessions President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration granted to investors.
In a disclosure by the Comptroller General of the NCS, Adewale Adeniyi, represented by Deputy Comptroller General Mba Musa at a National Assembly hearing, it was highlighted that the Customs Service suffered significant revenue setbacks due to these concessions.
Remarkably, the NCS clarified its lack of access to detailed information regarding the $3.2 billion Customs modernization project sanctioned by the Federal Executive Council in April 2023.
The project, also known as e-customs, was approved despite a court order restraining the government from proceeding.
The initiative was set to be implemented through a concessionaire, involving Bergman Securities Consultant and Suppliers Limited as the project sponsor, Africa Finance Corporation UFC as the lead financier, and Huawei Technologies as the primary technical service provider.
However, concerns and criticisms emerged from stakeholders who viewed the project as detrimental to the future of the Customs Service and national security.
Addressing the Senate joint panel, Mba indicated the NCS’s lack of insight into the specifics of the modernization agreement, emphasizing the Service’s exclusion from the project’s detailed planning and arrangements.
Expressing discomfort with the situation, Senator Sani Musa, the Chairman of the Joint Committee, asserted the Senate’s intention to initiate an investigation into the broad practice of granting waivers and concessions across the country.
