The House of Representatives Committee on Finance has directed the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to provide a comprehensive report detailing the beneficiaries of the approximately N34 trillion in import duty waivers granted in 2025.
The Committee said the report should include the names of beneficiaries, the legal framework under which the waivers were approved and the specific purposes for which the concessions were granted.
The directive was issued during the National Assembly’s ongoing revenue monitoring and oversight exercise when the management of the Nigeria Customs Service appeared before the Committee on Tuesday.
Chairman of the Committee, Hon. James Abiodun Faleke, said lawmakers were not opposed to the Federal Government’s policy of granting import duty waivers but had a constitutional responsibility to ensure that such concessions were awarded transparently and served the country’s economic interests.
According to Faleke, the Committee intends to verify whether the waivers achieved their intended objectives and whether the beneficiaries complied with the conditions attached to the concessions.
He noted that waivers granted for essential products such as medical supplies and agricultural commodities are understandable because they are designed to improve public welfare, support economic growth and reduce the cost of living. However, he stressed that full disclosure of all beneficiaries remains necessary for accountability.
The Committee also expressed concern over discrepancies in the revenue figures presented by the Nigeria Customs Service despite the agency consistently surpassing its annual revenue targets.
Faleke observed that while Customs had recorded strong revenue performance, the financial documents submitted to lawmakers did not clearly explain how the additional revenue above approved targets was generated.
He directed the Service to provide a detailed month-by-month breakdown of revenue collections, including explanations for fluctuations recorded throughout the year, to enable the Committee properly assess its financial performance.
The Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Saidu Mohammed Abdullahi, urged the Federal Government to review upward the revenue targets assigned to key revenue-generating agencies, particularly the Nigeria Customs Service.
He argued that Customs had consistently exceeded its annual targets, demonstrating greater revenue-generating capacity than current benchmarks reflect.
According to him, the agency generated N6.1 trillion against a N5 trillion target in 2024 and exceeded its approximately N6 trillion target in 2025 by recording N7.2 trillion in revenue. He maintained that setting higher targets would encourage even stronger performance.
Responding on behalf of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, the Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Finance, Administration and Technical Services, Kikelomo Adeola, clarified that the Nigeria Customs Service does not approve import duty waivers.
She explained that the Service only implements waiver approvals issued by the Federal Ministry of Finance in accordance with existing laws and government policies.
Adeola also advocated the establishment of inland dry ports across Nigeria to ease congestion at seaports, improve cargo clearance and facilitate more efficient trade operations nationwide.
She informed lawmakers that Customs scanners across the country were largely operational, with only a few units currently undergoing repairs.
However, Committee member Hon. Ifeanyi Uzokwe urged the Customs management to sanction officers whose negligence results in equipment failure or delays in cargo clearance.
The Committee also scrutinised the operations of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), directing the agency to submit a comprehensive register of all companies and businesses in Nigeria, including the registration fees paid by each entity.
Lawmakers further queried the Commission for failing to submit its audited financial statements to the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) since 2019, contrary to statutory requirements.
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A representative of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission informed the Committee that the Corporate Affairs Commission owed the Federal Government N13.9 billion in unremitted operating surplus.
Responding, the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission disclosed that the agency had begun reconciling its accounts with the Fiscal Responsibility Commission and had agreed to settle the outstanding liability through quarterly payments of N500 million.
The House Committee reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening transparency, accountability and revenue oversight across government institutions as part of efforts to improve public financial management.
