Nigerian Customs Proposes ₦1.13trn 2025 Budget, Criticizes 2024 Funding Shortfall

By Oluwakemi Kindness

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has proposed a budget of N1.13 trillion for its 2025 operations.

The budget it notes aims at strengthening revenue generation despite what lawmakers describe as gross underfunding in the previous year.

Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs, Bello Jibo, presented the proposal on Monday during a budget defence session before the House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise in Abuja.

Breaking down the 2025 proposal, Jibo said N247.1 billion—or 21.8 per cent—is allocated to personnel costs, N239.9 billion (21.1 per cent) to overhead, and N645.4 billion (56.9 per cent) to capital expenditure.

He urged the National Assembly to consider and approve the budget to ensure the service meets its strategic and operational goals.

Despite financial constraints, Jibo noted that the NCS surpassed its 2024 revenue target by generating N6.105 trillion, up from a projected N5 trillion—an increase of 20.2 per cent.

This, he said, was achieved even amid significant revenue waivers and duty concessions.

For the Chairman of the Committee, Representative Leke Abejide, he expressed dismay over the poor funding of the service in 2024, noting that it undermined its operational potential.

Abejide revealed that only 43.5 per cent of the personnel budget, 46.3 per cent of overhead, and 45.6 per cent of capital allocations were released, describing the situation as shocking and unacceptable.

“I have gone through your 2024 budget performance and was flabbergasted, astonished, surprised and at a loss for words to describe the level of poor funding of the Nigeria Customs Service,” he said.

The committee acknowledged the impressive revenue performance and stressed the need for better financial support to enable the service meet its growing responsibilities.