The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has set an ambitious revenue target of N11.074 trillion for the 2026 fiscal year, almost doubling its 2025 target of N6.584 trillion and building on a performance that exceeded expectations by N674 billion.
The comptroller general of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this on Monday during the agency’s budget defence before the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Customs.
Adeniyi also revealed that the Service generated N7.277 trillion in 2025 against a target of N6.584 trillion, representing an excess of N674 billion or about 10.24 per cent positive variance.
He said that as of May 31, 2026, the Service had already realised N4.43 trillion of the projected 2026 revenue target.
For the 2026 fiscal year, the Customs Service proposed an expenditure profile of N1.235 trillion, comprising N421 billion for personnel cost, N307 billion for overhead and N565 billion for capital expenditure.
Adeniyi attributed the strong 2025 performance to ongoing reforms in revenue generation, improved anti-smuggling operations and enhanced trade facilitation measures, though he noted that some government policies affected revenue inflows.
He cited policies such as tariffs on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and electric vehicles, as well as the yet-to-be-implemented Green Tax, as factors that impacted operations in the outgoing year.
Looking ahead, the Customs boss expressed confidence in surpassing the 2026 target despite global economic uncertainties.
“In 2026, despite the major elephant in the room which is the crisis in the Middle East, Customs is determined to achieve its revenue target of N11.074 trillion or even surpass it,” he said.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly Committees on Customs applauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for extending the tenure of the Comptroller-General by six months.
The chairman of the Senate Committee on Customs, Senator Jibrin Isah (Kogi East), congratulated Adeniyi on the extension, describing the Service under his leadership as transformed through reforms in revenue generation, anti-smuggling operations and trade facilitation.
“Customs under your leadership has been transformed through series of revenue-generating reforms, improved anti-smuggling measures, improved trade facilitation and provision of required infrastructure for ease of doing business,” he said.
He urged the Comptroller-General to intensify efforts to achieve the 2026 revenue projections.
The committee subsequently approved the 2026 budget proposal of the Nigeria Customs Service through a voice vote, with all members in attendance supporting the proposal.
