The Comptroller-General (C-G) of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adeniyi, has urged the Senate Committee on Customs to strengthen oversight of the service’s reforms.
Adeniyi made the call on Wednesday in Abuja while delivering a keynote address at the opening of a two-day retreat for the Senate Committee on Customs.
The retreat focused on the theme, ‘Legislative Oversight in the Context of Nigeria Customs Service Modernisation and Reforms.’
He said effective oversight should go beyond scrutinising revenue figures and individual customs decisions to examining the systems, rules and data driving the service’s modernisation.
According to him, the shift from manual to automated customs administration requires lawmakers to focus on risk-engine calibration, valuation databases, cargo-release times and the impact of exemptions.
He said the service collected N7.28 trillion in 2025, exceeding its target by 10.24 per cent, while it collected N3.35 trillion between January and May 2026.
Adeniyi, however, cautioned that revenue growth alone was not sufficient to demonstrate successful reform, saying the key consideration was whether the growth was based on improved systems.
“Revenue performance is important, but it is not the only measure of success. The real question is whether the systems producing that revenue are stronger, more transparent and more predictable,” he said.
He said modernisation in the NCS involved replacing discretion with rules, supported by risk management, automated valuation references and data-driven targeting.
He said the Trade Modernisation Project and deployment of B’Odogwu were central to the process, as electronic records would make decisions traceable and delays attributable.
The C-G also called on the committee to review the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023, which he said had been in operation for three years.
He said the period had generated sufficient evidence on provisions that worked as intended, those that were difficult to implement and areas where international trade developments had overtaken the law.
“The Act has now been in operation for three years, and that is enough time for us to begin to see clearly what is working, what is not working, and what needs to be adjusted,” he said.
Adeniyi urged lawmakers to protect the reform process from undue influence, particularly by ensuring that automated risk-management systems could not be overridden through personal or political influence.
“A risk engine that can be overridden by influence is not a risk engine; it is a formality with a computer attached,” he said.
He also called for legislative attention to the exemption regime, noting that substantial trade entered the country through waivers and concessions granted for policy reasons.
He said the committee should examine whether such concessions still served the purposes for which they were created.
The NCS boss acknowledged that the modernisation process was still ongoing, with some ports yet to fully adopt the new system, officers undergoing training and traders adjusting to the changes.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Customs, Jibrin Isah said the NCS, under Adeniyi’s leadership, had embarked on several major reforms that significantly increased revenue generation.
Isah urged the NCS to identify and address its challenges to achieve improved performance in 2026 and beyond, assuring the service of legislative support where required.
He expressed confidence that the retreat would deepen senators’ understanding of NCS operations and enable them to become better ambassadors of the service.
The senator specifically congratulated Adeniyi on his re-election as Chairperson of the World Customs Organisation Council, describing the development as a major feat for Nigeria.(NAN)
