Economy
Customs Grows Revenue by 74% to N4.49trn in 2023
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has said its revenue grew by 74 per cent or N1.9 trillion to N4.49 trillion in 2023 from the N2.25 trillion recorded in 2022.
The Comptroller-General (C-G) of Customs, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday to mark his one year in office.
He spoke against the backdrop of huge distortions in business planning caused by frequent changes in exchange rates over the past few months.
“The NCS reported a remarkable 74 per cent growth in revenue collection over the past year, recording a total revenue collection of N4.49 trillion between June 2023 and May 2024, compared to the N2.58 trillion collected during the corresponding period of the previous year.
“This achievement was underpinned by a sustained increase of 70.13 per cent in average monthly revenue collection compared to the previous year. NCS recorded an average monthly revenue collection of N343 billion, compared to the N202 billion monthly average.
“Notably, there was a substantial 122.35 per cent rise in revenue collection during the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in the previous year,” Mr Adeniyi stated.
The gains, the customs chief said, were attributable to the N15 billion recovery by the Revenue Review Performance Recovery exercise; N2.79 billion recovered from the 90-day window for the regularisation of the documents of uncustomed vehicles; N1.5 billion recovered from the decongestion of 1,705 overtime containers and 981 vehicles from the port.
“It is also worthy to note that on June 13, 2024, NCS recorded a daily All-Time-High of N58.5 billion in revenue collection,” he added.
The deployment of officers to sensitive posts based on merit and capacity, the CG also said, was key to the performance recorded within the period under review.
On the trade facilitation mandate of the NCS, Mr Adeniyi said that the decongestion of ports and the re-opening of previously inaccessible access roads have played key roles.
“Particularly noteworthy is the NCS’s recent ranking under the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), which aims to streamline business operations in Nigeria through reforms and policies.
“Ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) are ranked by activities under eight broad indicator levels, including efficiency reforms based on service delivery within stipulated timelines, transparency reforms, the review and update of Service Level Agreements, and support for manufacturing and agriculture export.
“Between 2020 and 2022, the NCS maintained an average percentage score of 18.45 per cent, ranking 28th out of the 37 MDAs ranked. By 2023, the NCS ranking fell further to 34th out of 39 MDAs, with a percentage score of 18.53 per cent.
“However, by 2024, I am delighted to announce that the NCS moved up 33 places, now tied at the top with 4 other MDAs out of the 36 MDAs assessed, with a percentage score of 100 per cent, marking an 81.5 per cent increase. This remarkable improvement is directly attributed to the trade facilitation measures implemented within the past year.”
The NCS boss added that the designation of a dedicated terminal for exports has yielded significant gains, facilitating the processing of export goods through the Lilypond Command.
“Initially handling 317 Single Goods Declarations (SGDs) in transactions, the terminal now manages 7,464 SGDs, accounting for 19.49 per cent of the total 38,294 export transactions recorded in 2023. By the first quarter of 2024, the Service has processed a total of 10,786 transactions, with 3,162 (29.32 per cent) of these processed through the dedicated export terminal,” he said.
He said the NCS’s anti-smuggling efforts in the past year resulted in significant interceptions, high-value seizures, and numerous arrests, including 63 seizures related to animal and wildlife products valued at N566 million”.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) agreed to maintain stable oil production at its meeting on Sunday, the group said in a statement.
The agreement comes despite political tensions between key members; Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as well as the capture of the president of another OPEC member, Venezuela, by the United States.
Sunday’s meeting of the eight OPEC+ members, which produce about half of the world’s oil, came after oil prices fell more than 18 per cent in 2025, their steepest annual decline since 2020, amid growing fears of oversupply.
The eight countries – Saudi Arabia, Russia, UAE, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Iraq, Algeria, and Oman – raised their oil production targets by approximately 2.9 million barrels per day from April to December 2025, which is almost 3 per cent of global oil demand.
In November, they agreed to suspend production increases for January, February, and March.
It was reported that Venezuela was not discussed at Sunday’s brief online meeting.
The eight countries will meet next on February 1, the statement said.
Tensions between Saudi Arabia and the UAE escalated last month over the decade-long conflict in Yemen, when a UAE-backed group seized territory from the Saudi-backed government. The crisis triggered the biggest rift in a decade between former close allies, as years of diverging views on critical issues came to a head, the publication writes.
OPEC has in the past managed to overcome serious internal disagreements, such as over the Iran-Iraq war, by prioritizing market management over political disputes.
However, the group faces numerous crises, with Russian oil exports under pressure due to US sanctions over Russia’s war against Ukraine, and Iran facing protests and threats of US intervention, the publication writes.
On Saturday, the US captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and US President Donald Trump said the American government would take control of the country until a transition to a new administration was possible, without specifying how this would be achieved.
Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves, even larger than those of OPEC leader Saudi Arabia, but the country’s oil production has plummeted due to years of mismanagement and sanctions.
By Dipo Olowookere
The first trading session of 2026 on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended on a positive note with a 0.57 per cent growth on Friday.
This was buoyed by renewed appetite for stocks across the key sectors of the market as investors rebalance their portfolios for the new year, especially with the commencement of the controversial tax laws.
Data from Customs Street showed that the banking space advanced by 2.32 per cent, the insurance improved by 2.07 per cent, the energy index expanded by 1.38 per cent, the commodity sector rose by 0.71 per cent, and the consumer goods landscape advanced by 0.21 per cent, while the industrial goods closed flat.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) was up by 879.33 points to 156,492.36 points from 155,613.03 points and the market capitalisation went up by N562 billion to N99.938 trillion from Wednesday’s N99.376 trillion.
Yesterday, the quartet of FTN Cocoa, Deap Capital, Mutual Benefits, and ABC Transport chalked up 10.00 per cent each to sell for N5.50, N2.09, N3.41, and N4.51 apiece, while Aluminium Extrusion gained 9.93 per cent to settle at N23.80.
However, Abbey Mortgage Bank declined by 6.25 per cent to N6.00, FCMB shrank by 4.56 per cent to N11.50, Seplat Energy depreciated by 3.43 per cent to N5,610.00, Guinea Insurance lost 2.26 per cent to close at N1.30, and Universal Insurance went down by 1.65 per cent to N1.19.
A total of 440.0 million shares worth N25.0 billion exchanged hands in 40,245 deals during the session compared with the 1.2 billion shares valued at N35.1 billion traded in 27,884 deals in the previous session, representing a surge in the number of deals by 44.33 per cent and a shortfall in the trading volume and value by 63.33 per cent and 28.78 per cent, respectively.
Chams topped the activity table after the sale of 120.3 million units worth N455.1 million, Linkage Assurance traded 21.2 million units valued at N38.3 million, Lasaco Assurance exchanged 19.5 million units for N48.6 million, Aradel Holdings sold 15.6 million units worth N10.7 billion, and Access Holdings transacted 14.3 million units valued at N317.3 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira closed the first session of 2026 positive against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) as it gained N4.91 or 0.34 per cent to trade at N1,430.85/$1 compared to the previous rate of N1,435.76/$1.
This was a similar trend in the spot market against the Pound Sterling and the Euro on Friday session as the Naira chalked up N8.47 on the British currency to close at N1,925.78/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing rate of N1,934.24/£1 and appreciated against the European currency by N9.64 to quote at N1,678.24/€1 versus N1,687.88/€1.
In the black market window, the Nigerian currency firmed up against the Dollar yesterday by N5 to sell for N,475/$1 compared with the previous rate of N1,480/$1 and improved against the greenback at the GTBank counter by N17 to settle at N1,435/$1 versus the previous value of N1,452/$1.
The appreciation at the market came as demand eased as the year commenced with a positive outlook for the FX market in which the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said reforms will further enhance efficiency and transparency, narrow the premium between the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market and Bureau de Change rates, and sustain exchange rate stability. In addition, improved domestic oil refining capacity is expected to reduce foreign exchange demand for fuel imports.
The apex bank said that external reserves of Nigeria will climb to $51.04 billion in 2026 from $45 billion in 2025. The reserves are expected to be boosted by reduced pressure in the FX market based on the anticipated rise in oil earnings, sovereign bond issuance, and diaspora remittance inflows.
On inflation, the CBN anticipates that headline inflation will decelerate further to 12.94 per cent in 2026, driven by a combination of factors, and is expected to come down to 10.75 per cent in 2027.
In the cryptocurrency market, Ripple (XRP) rose above $2 for the first time since mid-December, extending a strong start to 2026 as traders pointed to steady spot exchange traded-fund (ETF) inflows and improving regulatory sentiment in the US. However, it closed the day at $1.99 after gaining 6.3 per cent.
Traders reassess the regulatory backdrop after SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, a staunch critic of crypto spot ETFs, departed, which some market participants viewed as clearing the way for a more crypto-friendly policy stance.
Further, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 9.1 per cent to $0.1400, Cardano (ADA) grew by 7.9 per cent to $0.3856, Litecoin (LTC) jumped by 2.5 per cent to $81.37, and Solana (SOL) added 2.4 per cent to trade at $130.35.
In addition, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 1.8 per cent to close at $3,077.46, Binance Coin (BNB) expanded by 0.7 per cent to sell for $871.01, and Bitcoin (BTC) increased by 0.6 per cent to $89,461.15, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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