Economy
Customs, NACCIMA Move to Cut High Cost of Doing Business
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has announced fresh measures to strengthen collaboration with the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) in a bid to ease trade, improve revenue generation and enhance border management.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, gave the assurance in Abuja while receiving the newly elected NACCIMA President, Mr Jani Ibrahim, and his team at the customs headquarters.
“When I assumed office, one of the first things I was deliberate about was the issue of collaboration. Revenue and security are important, but to succeed in both, we must also strengthen trade facilitation,” Mr Adeniyi said, noting that the service will establish dedicated desks for NACCIMA members to resolve issues relating to customs processes and procedures.
“Today, I am pleased to inform you that we are fully on course with this collaboration. In that spirit, we will dedicate special desks for your members to resolve issues regarding the implementation of our processes,” he added.
On his part, the new NACCIMA leader congratulated Mr Adeniyi on his election as the chairperson of the World Customs Organisation Council, describing it as “a well-deserved recognition of Nigeria’s growing leadership in customs administration.”
Mr Ibrahim further hailed President Bola Tinubu’s decision to extend Mr Adeniyi’s tenure as CGC, saying it was “a vote of confidence in his transformational reforms,” lauding ongoing customs reforms such as the Authorised Economic Operator programme, the deployment of indigenous digital platforms known as B’odogwu, Time-Release Studies, and improvements to the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report.
According to him, these innovations are already lowering cargo dwell time and reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks at the ports.
“The private sector, through NACCIMA and the organised private sector, is fully committed to supporting Customs in achieving its mandate,” Mr Ibrahim said, stressing the need for an institutional mechanism to deepen the partnership, proposing a joint committee between Customs and NACCIMA.
“We strongly advocate the establishment of a Joint Technical Facilitation Committee with representatives of both NACCIMA and Customs. This will provide a framework for regular consultation and measurable progress on all areas of collaboration,” Mr Ibrahim stated.
According to him, such cooperation would not only cut the cost of doing business in Nigeria but also strategically position the country under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
