Nigeria loses N1.3trn in revenue to waivers, concessions in 2023–Customs

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) reports that the waivers and concessions granted to investors under former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration resulted in a financial loss of N1.3 trillion.

Deputy Comptroller General of Customs, Mba Musa, who Adewale Adeniyi, the Comptroller General (CG) disclosed on Wednesday during a public hearing on the 2024–2026 medium-term expenditure framework and fiscal strategy of the Senate Committee.

He emphasized that the concessions significantly affected the potential revenue the NCS could have added to Nigeria’s consolidated revenue fund in 2023.

At the hearing, the senators inquired from the Comptroller General about the details of the agreement signed by the Federal Government on the modernisation of Nigeria Customs.

Mba explained that “NCS would have generated more revenue to the nation’s Consolidated Revenue Fund in 2023 if not for the waivers and concessions arrangements.”

“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.

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“The NCS lost N1.3 trillion in 2023 due to waivers and concessions the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration granted to investors,” Musa said.

Reacting to the agency’s submission, Sani Musa, the chairman of the joint committee, called for a Senate probe into the waivers and concessions, emphasizing that such concessions should not hinder revenue generation critical for the country’s economic growth.

Furthermore, the Senate sought clarity on the NCS modernization project, known as e-customs, requesting details of the agreement signed by the federal government.

In response, Adeniyi stated that the service lacks access to specifics regarding the $3.2 billion modernization project agreement.

“We are not privy to details of the modernisation agreement of the Nigeria Customs Modernisation Project,” Mba told the federal lawmakers.”

The Customs modernization project was approved for implementation by the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, with a specific approval to entrust it to a concessionaire.

The concessionaire was 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.