The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has reported that at least N1.3 trillion that would have been made by the federal government in the 2023 fiscal year was lost to waivers granted to investors.
The waivers were granted by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Comptroller General of NCS, Adewale Adeniyi, made this known while addressing the Senate joint committees during a public hearing on the 2024–2026 medium-term expenditure framework and fiscal strategy.
Adeniyi who was represented by Deputy Comptroller General, Mba Musa, said that the concessions significantly affected the potential revenue the NCS could have added to Nigeria’s consolidated revenue fund in 2023.
“By now we shouldn’t be talking about concessions for cement manufacturers, we should not even be talking about sugar importation.
“We should not deny ourselves, revenues that we should generate to make our economy vibrant. By now, we should be consolidating on waivers given to boost revenues.
“We would review the waivers and make our recommendations. By now, you (NCS) should be meeting up on your projected target, if there are no waivers,
“The NCS lost N1.3 trillion in 2023 due to waivers and concessions the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration granted to investors,” Musa said.
Chairman of the joint committee, Sani Musa, called for a Senate probe into the waivers and concessions, noting that such concessions should not hinder revenue generation critical for the country’s economic growth.
The Senate also sought clarity on the NCS modernisation project, known as e-customs, requesting details of the agreement signed by the federal government.
Adeniyi, however, stated that the service lacks access to specifics regarding the $3.2 billion modernisation project agreement.
This newspaper reports that the Customs modernisation project was approved for implementation by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, with a specific approval to entrust it to a concessionaire, Bergman Securities Consultant and Suppliers Limited as the project sponsor, Africa Finance Corporation UFC as the lead financier while Huawei Technologies was to be trained as a lead technical service provider.
