•Senate raises Customs’ 2025 revenue target to N10trn 

•Urges stronger action against smuggling, illicit drug trade

Ndubuisu Francis and Sunday Aborisadein Abuja

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, revealed yesterday that the federal government’s revenue stood at N6.9 trillion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2025.

The figure represents a 40 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) increase over N5.2 trillion posted in the corresponding period of 2024.

This emerged as the Senate Committee on Customs directed the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to raise its projected revenue target for 2025 from N6.584 trillion to N10 trillion, citing the agency’s commendable revenue performance in 2024.

The Chairman of the Committee, Senator IsahJibrin (Kogi East), gave the directive during a budget defence session in Abuja, following a presentation by a delegation from the NCS led by Deputy Comptroller General, Jibo Bello, who represented the Comptroller General.

For his part, Edun who spoke in Abuja, at the citizens and stakeholders’ engagement session,

attributed the 40 percent rise in revenue, to ongoing reforms, particularly in foreign exchange (FX) policy and improved fiscal governance, buoyed by enhanced deployment of technology and automation across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

Edun, who was upbeat about revenue ramping up in the coming months, stated that the government was determined to collect all the revenues due to it.

He said: “Through improved transparency, automation, and plugging revenue leakages, we’ve moved from an annual revenue of about N12.5 trillion to over N20 trillion in 2024.

“In the first quarter of this year (when we even take April into account)—the first four months, we do have a substantial increase in revenue, and that effort continues.

“There is a commitment to diligently go after all that should be brought in. So, by the end of April, about N6.9 trillion was generated, and as I’ve said, rising.”

He acknowledged that some revenue generating agencies and government-owned enterprises were not remitting in a timely manner, arising from auditing and reconciliation procedures, thereby limiting inflows.

 “Institutions that are mandated to remit up to 80 percent of their operating surpluses to the federal purse under the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the 2020 Finance Act often delay until audited figures are finalised,” he stated.

According to him, under the President Bola Tinubu administration, there is a stronger debt-related security to the position before.

He explained that debt service-to-revenue stood at 60 per cent at the end of 2024, far below the 150 per cent recorded in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023 when the former administration was in power, a situation which translated to debt servicing exceeding generated revenue.

He also admitted that oil revenue performance was below target due to below production benchmark and global price fluctuations.

“We’re not where we expected to be on oil output. Every effort is being made to raise production, but this has had an impact on short-term revenue projections and debt service funding,” he said.

However, the minister was optimistic on the long-term gains from Nigeria’s return to value-added exports and industrialisation

He cited the country’s growing domestic refining capacity, led by the 650,000 barrels per day Dangote Refinery and other modular refineries, which collectively provide up to 1.2 million barrels per day in capacity.

“This reduces raw exports, creates jobs, and boosts foreign exchange earnings by exporting refined petroleum products and supplying domestic industries with inputs,” he said.

He disclosed that the third phase of the government’s economic plan was to increase investment in production to reduce the multidimensional poverty, adding that several macroeconomic indices were on the right trajectory.

He alluded to Shell Development Company renewed interest to invest over $5 billion in oil production in the country, despite concerns in some quarters that the company was divesting its onshore assets from Nigeria.

At the event, the Managing Director and CEO of Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), Dr. Armstrong Ume Takang, who was represented by AlhajiTajudeen Ahmed, said 20 portfolio companies’ assets under management had grown N38 trillion in just two years of MOFI’s transformational touch.

Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on Customs has directed the NCS to raise its projected revenue target for 2025 from N6.584 trillion to N10 trillion, citing the agency’s commendable revenue performance in 2024.

According to Bello, the Service surpassed its 2024 revenue target of N5.079 trillion by over N1 trillion.

The performance earned the NCS praise from the Senate panel, which subsequently approved the proposed 2025 budget estimate of N6.584 trillion in revenue and N1.132 trillion in expenditure.

However, Senator Jibrin urged the agency to scale up its ambition, tasking it with a new target of N10 trillion for the 2025 fiscal year.

The approved budget will now be presented before the Senate during plenary, which resumes today, following recess for the Eid-el-Kabir celebration.

In his concluding remarks, Senator Jibrin also charged the NCS to intensify its surveillance efforts to curb smuggling and the influx of illicit drugs into the country, which he noted contributes significantly to the rising wave of insecurity.

“There is so much illicit drug movement across the country, and this is fueling criminality, especially banditry. Many of these perpetrators are under the influence of drugs,” he added.

He further emphasised the importance of reducing the volume of smuggled goods entering Nigeria, reiterating President Bola Tinubu’s advocacy for local consumption and production.

Jibrin said, “We must reduce importation to only the essentials. Many of the items being smuggled into the country can be produced locally, even if in their raw form.

“If we consume what we produce, we’ll conserve foreign exchange, promote local industries, and create employment opportunities.”

He called on the Customs Service to align its operations with national economic goals, noting that efficient border control and revenue generation are critical components of Nigeria’s development strategy.

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