By Jerrywright Ukwu

Senate President Godswill Akpabio (seated) in a discussion with Barau Jibrin, deputy senate president, and Opeyemi Bamidele (in blue), senate leader

The senate has approved the 2026 budget of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), endorsing a revenue target of N11.074 trillion and an expenditure estimate of N1.295 trillion.

The approval followed the consideration and adoption of the report of the senate committee on customs, excise and tariffs, chaired by Isah Jibrin.

Presenting the report on Wednesday, Jibrin, who represents Kogi east, said the committee reviewed the service’s 2025 budget implementation and found that customs exceeded its revenue target, generating N7.2 trillion against the approved target of N6.5 trillion.

He said the performance represented about 110.5 percent of the target.

Jibrin, however, said revenue could have been higher but for fiscal policies aimed at promoting local production and disruptions to international trade caused by the Russia-Ukraine war, which affected imports, including wheat.

He said customs had an approved 2025 expenditure budget of N1.132 trillion but spent about N591 billion during the year.

According to him, the low level of budget implementation was largely due to delays in obtaining approvals from relevant government agencies, particularly the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).

Jibrin added that projects not executed in 2025 would be rolled over into the 2026 fiscal year.

He said the service’s proposed revenue target of N11.074 trillion for 2026 would be driven by wider deployment of technology, strengthened revenue recovery mechanisms, real-time systems audits and improved trade facilitation.

Jibrin said the proposed expenditure estimate of N1.295 trillion comprises N421 billion for personnel costs, N307 billion for overheads and N565 billion for capital projects.

He said priority would be given to the completion of the service’s new headquarters and other ongoing infrastructure projects.

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Jibrin added that the service’s major source of funding remains the four percent Free-on-Board (FOB) value of imports as provided under the Nigeria Customs Service Act.

“The committee, having considered the proposed 2026 budget, recommends that the senate approve the proposed revenue target of N11,074,359,357,179 and the proposed expenditure estimate of N1,295,409,849,722.19 for the 2026 financial year,” he said.

Barau Jibrin, deputy senate president, commended the management of the NCS for surpassing its 2025 revenue target while maintaining what he described as prudent spending.

“They were expected to generate N6.5 trillion but ended up collecting N7.2 trillion. That is a remarkable achievement worthy of commendation,” he said.

Barau also praised the service for proposing an expenditure of N1.295 trillion despite its strong revenue performance, describing the budget as evidence of fiscal discipline.

He commended customs for allocating more resources to capital projects than overhead costs, saying the spending pattern demonstrated prudence and commitment to national development.

“The officers and men of the Nigeria Customs Service are doing a wonderful job. They are showing prudence, patriotism and innovation by bringing more revenue into the coffers of the nation,” he said.

The senate subsequently approved the committee’s recommendations, clearing the proposed revenue target and expenditure estimates for the NCS for the 2026 fiscal year.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio commended the committee for its detailed scrutiny of the budget proposal and congratulated customs on the approval of its 2026 budget.

Source: TheCable