Economy
Customs Rakes in N7.28trn Revenue in 2025, Beats Projection by 12%
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) said it beat its projected revenue collections for 2025 by 12 per cent as it stood at N7.28 trillion.
This was disclosed by the Comptroller General of the Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, who gave the scorecard at an event to mark the 2026 World Customs Day on Monday, explained that the reported revenue exceeded earlier projected N6.5 trillion.
Mr Adeniyi noted that last year showed very clearly what “protecting society” looks like in the real world, noting that officers of the Command uncovered 16 containers of contraband goods in the period under review.
“Across our Commands, officers working with sister agencies disrupted multiple criminal supply chains before they ever reached our communities.
“At Apapa, we uncovered 16 containers of prohibited goods worth over N10 billion — a single operation that combined narcotics, expired pharmaceuticals, and concealed firearms.
“At the airports, officers intercepted over 1,600 exotic birds being trafficked without CITES permits, stopping a wildlife crime operation that would have harmed both biodiversity and Nigeria’s international obligations”, the statement said, adding that across land borders, its teams seized illicit narcotics and counterfeit medicines worth hundreds of millions of Naira, along with ammunition and other prohibited items moving through covert routes.
“These operations do not make headlines for long, but their impact is enduring as fewer young people exposed to harmful drugs; fewer weapons reaching criminal networks; fewer counterfeit medicines reaching patients; fewer endangered species removed from the ecosystem”.
The Service also said it recorded over 2,500 seizures, with an aggregate value of more than N59 billion in prohibited and harmful goods removed from circulation nationwide.
These seizures, it noted, cut across narcotics, counterfeit pharmaceuticals, wildlife products, arms and ammunition, petroleum products, vehicles, and substandard consumer goods.
“This most certainly prevented real harm — addiction, unsafe treatment, violent crime, subsidy, exploitation, environmental degradation, and treaty violations and funerals before they occur”, he stated.
The NCS also said vigilance coexists with facilitation.
“A modern Customs administration must be able to detect high-risk consignments without suffocating lawful trade”, it said, adding that the launch of the Time Release Study is significant.
“The TRS marks a major step toward making Nigeria’s trade gateways secure, efficient, predictable, and globally competitive.
“It signals our commitment to move from opinion-driven reforms to evidence-based reforms, and from complaints-driven policy to data-driven policy”.
The Study conducted at Tincan Island Port provides the most comprehensive measurement of clearance performance in our recent history. It reveals encouraging realities and uncomfortable truths.
It shows, on the one hand, that examination times themselves are relatively efficient, and that Nigeria has the capacity to clear goods quickly.
“It shows, on the other hand, that excessive idle periods—often due to fragmented scheduling, manual documentation, and poor coordination—extend clearance times unnecessarily and erode competitiveness. In other words, our challenge is not that we cannot move goods fast; it is that goods are not allowed to move fast.”
“We now have validated clearance timelines covering more than 600 declarations, combining manual timestamps and platform data.
“We now know with precision how long it takes from booking for examination to physical gate exit, and where bottlenecks concentrate. Armed with such evidence, we are now able to say: the fastest way to protect Nigerian traders and our economy is both through border security and procedural reform”, the service added.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for the Nigerian private sector in July 2026 contracted to 52.5 points from 53.4 points in June 2026, a statement made available to Business Post has shown.
This occurred despite the business environment sustaining its growth last month, with an increase in new orders experienced, as inflationary pressures softened, and output and employment modestly rising.
The Head of Equity Research West Africa at Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr Muyiwa Oni, said the PMI indicated that the private sector recorded its slowest since March 2026, as businesses also increased their input purchasing activity to keep up with current demand requirements and prepare for future workloads.
“Nigerian businesses reported improved customer demand in July while better pricing and new product launches also helped them to capture new orders arising from the increase in demand. These factors helped to keep the private sector activity in an expansionary territory, although this moderated when compared to June,” he was quoted as saying.
It was stated that while input costs increased at their slowest pace in five months, panellists reported higher costs for fuel and raw materials. Selling prices also softened in line with the picture for input costs in July.
Headline inflation eased slightly to 15.91 per cent y/y in June from 15.93 per cent y/y in May, snapping three consecutive months of price increases.
Although July inflation is likely to be higher m/m, it is expected to print lower, likely at 15.72 per cent y/y, primarily driven by favourable base effects from the corresponding period of last year, because there are no expectations of the magnitude of m/m inflation witnessed in July 2025 (1.99 per cent) to materialise this year.
“We retain our 2026 growth forecasts at 4.1 per cent as we see the oil sector growing by 3.45 per cent y/y in 2026, from 8.50 per cent y/y in 2025, while the non-oil sector is likely to grow by 4.11 per cent y/y, from 3.71 per cent y/y in 2025.
“The risks to our outlook include country-wide insecurity which may constrain food production, exchange rate pressures resurfacing, extreme-weather related conditions and higher fertiliser prices impacting crop yield, and a volatile global environment which may affect sentiment and constrain capital flows,” Mr Oni noted.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Sahara Upstream, a Nigeria-focused crude producer, has deployed a new 380,000-barrel tanker to boost exports from the OML 18 block as part of a wider push by domestic operators to invest in infrastructure and lift output and exports for Africa’s biggest oil producer.
The MT D Adesanya, which can hold more than 62,000 cubic metres of crude, will operate alongside the MT D Bayero, receiving crude from shuttle vessels at Bonny Anchorage, one of Nigeria’s main crude export hubs, before transferring it to the FSO Cawthorne storage facility.
Sahara said the tanker would help cut turnaround times, currently about 30 to 48 hours, and support a planned 50 per cent increase in exports from the block’s current level of about 950,000 barrels per month.
The block currently produces about 36,000 barrels per day, according to data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), with Sahara targeting output of 60,000 barrels per day.
OML 18 is one of the Niger Delta’s oldest producing assets. It began production in 1970 and contains an estimated 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent in reserves.
Shell, Total and Eni sold their combined interests to Eroton in 2015 as part of a broader shift toward domestic ownership in Nigeria’s upstream sector.
This development comes as Sahara Upstream is deepening its exploration and production footprint through Asharami Energy Limited (AEL), its upstream E&P business, which says it is targeting 350,000 barrels of oil per day by 2030 through its subsidiary, Enageed Resources Limited (ERL).
The growth target comes as AEL also marks a major safety milestone, achieving 6 million Lost Time Injury (LTI)-free man-hours in its OML-148 operations — reinforcing the company’s commitment to operational excellence and safety leadership.
According to Asharami Energy, the milestone reflects its ability to execute complex operations safely, in line with Sahara’s Beyond XXX vision, which builds on the group’s 30-year legacy of responsible enterprise while marking its next chapter of impact, innovation, and sustainable growth.
The developments position Sahara Upstream and its subsidiaries among the domestic operators driving increased investment in Nigeria’s oil and gas infrastructure, as the group works to scale up production and exports for Africa’s biggest oil producer.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the leading energy firms in Nigeria, Aradel Holdings Plc, has expressed its desire to optimise its enlarged portfolio and improve operational efficiency in the second half of 2026.
The company is planning to build on the success it recorded in the first half of the year, where it grew its revenue by 577 per cent to N2.5 trillion from N368.1 billion in H1 2025.
The significant rise in earnings was driven by higher production volumes together with stronger realised crude oil and gas prices, with the average at $90.4/bbl and $2.08/mmscf, respectively.
In the period under review, the Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) increased by 688 per cent to N1.4 trillion from N176.4 billion in the corresponding period of last year, while the operating profit surged by 789 per cent to N1.1 trillion from N118.6 billion due to higher revenue and crude handling income at N149.8 billion, partly offset by underlift cost and general and administrative costs.
The net cash generated from operations was N975.6 billion between January and June 2026 versus N140.8 billion in the same period of 2025, reflecting the cash generation of the enlarged organisation.
The net debt contracted by 70 per cent on a year-to-date basis to N46.5 billion from N475.1 billion as of December 31, 2025.
Aradel, in the period under consideration, improved its post-tax profit by 30 per cent to N191.0 billion from N146.4 billion, a development that impressed its chief executive, Mr Adegbite Falade, who said, “A firmer price environment supported performance, generating net cash from operating activities of N975.6 billion and a closing cash balance of N1.7 trillion.”
“Our enlarged portfolio provides more opportunities to generate stronger cash flow and returns for shareholders and unlocking that potential is our main focus.
“We reaffirm our full year production guidance of 110 – 140 kboepd and remain committed to operating responsibly in a changing energy landscape and to delivering lasting value for our stakeholders,” he stated.
