The Senate has approved an N11.074 trillion revenue target for the Nigeria Customs Service in 2026 alongside an N1.295 trillion expenditure proposal, building on a 2025 performance that saw the agency blow past its own target by more than N700 billion.
Presenting the report of the Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariffs, Chairman Isah Jibrin told lawmakers that Customs generated N7.2 trillion against an assigned 2025 target of N6.5 trillion, about 110.5 percent of what it was asked to collect, a performance he said would have been even stronger had fiscal policy measures encouraging local production and disruptions from the Russia Ukraine conflict, particularly affecting wheat imports, not weighed on revenue. On the spending side, Jibrin noted that although Customs had an approved N1.132 trillion budget for 2025, it actually spent only about N591 billion, a shortfall he attributed to delays securing approvals from agencies including the Bureau of Public Procurement, with unfinished 2025 projects now carrying over into 2026.
For the new fiscal year, Jibrin said Customs is targeting N11.074 trillion through wider technology deployment, improved revenue recovery mechanisms, real time systems audits and stronger trade facilitation, with the proposed N1.295 trillion expenditure split across N421 billion for personnel, N307 billion for overheads and N565 billion for capital projects, the latter largely earmarked to complete the Customs headquarters building and other ongoing infrastructure. He noted the agency’s principal funding source remains the four percent free on board value of imports under the Nigeria Customs Service Act. Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin commended both the committee and the Comptroller General for surpassing the 2025 target while maintaining what he called prudent spending, calling the jump from an expected N6.5 trillion to an actual N7.2 trillion a remarkable achievement. The Senate went on to unanimously approve both the revenue target and expenditure proposal.
