The House of Representatives Committee on Finance has directed the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to provide a comprehensive breakdown of the approximately ₦34 trillion worth of import duty waivers granted in 2025, including the identities of beneficiaries, the legal basis for the approvals and the economic objectives they were intended to achieve.
The directive was issued on Wednesday when the management of the Nigeria Customs Service appeared before the committee as part of the National Assembly’s ongoing oversight of revenue-generating agencies and the implementation of the 2025 budget.
Chairman of the committee and member representing Ikeja Federal Constituency, James Faleke, said lawmakers were not opposed to the Federal Government’s policy of granting import duty waivers but insisted that the process must be transparent and subject to legislative scrutiny.
According to him, the committee seeks to determine whether the concessions achieved their intended economic objectives and whether due process was followed in granting them.
“Waiver is good. It is not a bad thing to grant a waiver. But we want to know those who benefited from the waiver and the purpose of such a waiver. It is okay if you grant a waiver on medical and agricultural products.
“If you grant a waiver, it is aimed at helping the economy to grow. For example, if you grant a waiver on agricultural products, it is aimed at reducing the cost of food. So, we are not against the waiver. But we want to know the beneficiaries of this ₦34tn waiver,” Faleke said.
Import duty waivers are fiscal incentives granted by the Federal Government to exempt certain imports from customs duties, particularly in strategic sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, manufacturing and infrastructure.
While successive administrations have defended the policy as a tool for stimulating economic growth, critics have consistently raised concerns over transparency, abuse and the resulting impact on government revenue.
The committee also queried the Nigeria Customs Service over what it described as inconsistencies in its revenue reporting despite the agency consistently surpassing its annual revenue targets.
Although Faleke acknowledged the service’s impressive revenue performance, he said the financial records submitted to the committee failed to adequately explain how Customs generated collections above approved projections.
“We are not going to applaud your efforts now because your account books are not balanced. We know that you want to be transparent, but you have not told us how the excess money you are reporting came about.
“I can see that in some months, you under-declare your revenue collection and in other months, you overshoot the collection.
We want to know what is responsible for this. You have to provide these little details that will help us properly assess your performance,” he said.
Deputy Chairman of the committee, Saidu Abdullahi, urged the Federal Government to raise Customs’ revenue targets, arguing that the agency had consistently demonstrated greater revenue-generating capacity than expected.
“I believe that they can do more than the target we give to them. I think we are not pushing them enough. That is why they will always come up with excesses. In 2024, you were given a target of ₦5tn, and you generated ₦6.1tn.
In 2025, you were given a target of about ₦6tn and you generated ₦7.2tn. I believe that if we push you enough, you can do better,” he said.
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.
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She explained that such waivers are granted by the Federal Ministry of Finance in accordance with existing laws and government policies, while Customs is responsible only for implementing approved concessions.
On trade facilitation, Adeola urged state governments to invest in inland dry ports, describing them as vital infrastructure capable of easing congestion at the nation’s seaports and improving cargo clearance.
“I will encourage all state governments to invest in inland dry ports. That will have a lot of impact on our operations. Any cargo that is marked for such an inland port will not be delayed at the main port.
“The container will be transported directly to the inland port, where it will be examined. That will reduce the pressure at the nation’s ports and increase trade facilitation in the states,” she said.
She also assured lawmakers that most cargo scanners at the nation’s ports remained operational, with only a few currently undergoing repairs.
Meanwhile, the committee also scrutinised the operations of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), directing the commission to submit comprehensive records of all companies and businesses registered in Nigeria, including details of registration fees paid by each entity.
Lawmakers further faulted the commission for failing to submit its audited financial statements to the Fiscal Responsibility Commission since 2019, contrary to statutory requirements, and directed it to immediately reconcile its accounts with the commission.
A representative of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission informed the committee that the Corporate Affairs Commission owed the Federal Government ₦13.9 billion in unremitted operating surplus accumulated over several years.
Responding, the Registrar-General of the Corporate Affairs Commission, Hussaini Magaji, disclosed that reconciliation with the Fiscal Responsibility Commission was already underway and that both agencies had agreed on a repayment plan under which the outstanding liability would be settled through quarterly payments of ₦500 million.