KEY POINTS
• The Nigeria Customs Service says it will support Nigeria’s drive to become a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
• Comptroller General Bashir Adeniyi says Customs reforms are aimed at improving trade and revenue generation.
• The service reported N3.35 trillion in revenue between January and May 2026.
MAIN STORY
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has reaffirmed its commitment to Nigeria’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy by 2030, with Comptroller General Bashir Adeniyi calling for effective implementation of plans aimed at achieving the target.
Adeniyi stated this while delivering a keynote address at The New Nigeria Festival in Abuja, according to a statement issued by the NCS spokesperson, Abdullahi Maiwada, on Thursday.
The festival, organised by Bullion Strategic Synergy Ltd and endorsed by the Office of the Vice President and the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, was held under the theme, “Great Ideas, Bold Execution”.
Adeniyi said Customs had an important role in the country’s economic transformation through its responsibilities for revenue collection, trade facilitation and border management.
He said the service was moving from discussions about Nigeria’s economic ambitions to practical measures aimed at supporting their achievement.
According to him, ongoing modernisation efforts by the NCS include the deployment of B’Odogwu, the Authorised Economic Operator programme and the Advance Ruling mechanism.
He said the initiatives were designed to facilitate legitimate trade by making the trading environment more predictable, while also supporting revenue generation.
Adeniyi said achieving the $1 trillion target would require institutions to convert national aspirations and strategies into measurable results.
He described the target as achievable if the plans developed to reach it were effectively implemented.
“Execution is nothing if it is not concrete. We have to move from ideas to action and ensure that whatever we plan translates into results.
“That is how we can begin to see the kind of transformation we are talking about,” he said.
The NCS said it generated N3.35 trillion in revenue between January and May 2026, while continuing its anti smuggling operations, trade facilitation activities and border security responsibilities across the country.
In September, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said the service was on course to meet its N11 trillion revenue target for the year.
Oyedele also commended the NCS for its trade reforms and said its revenue collection reached N4.03 trillion in the first half of 2026.
THE ISSUES
- Customs is linking its core responsibilities of revenue collection, trade facilitation and border management to the wider objective of expanding Nigeria’s economy. The service’s performance therefore has implications for both government revenue and the movement of legitimate trade.
- The modernisation measures highlighted by Adeniyi are intended to make the trading environment more predictable. Their stated objective is to facilitate legitimate trade while supporting the NCS revenue mandate.
- The reported revenue figures are relevant to the NCS’s N11 trillion annual revenue target for 2026. Oyedele said the service had generated N4.03 trillion in the first half of the year, while the NCS separately reported N3.35 trillion between January and May.
WHAT’S BEING SAID
“Execution is nothing if it is not concrete. We have to move from ideas to action and ensure that whatever we plan translates into results.” – Bashir Adeniyi, Comptroller General, Nigeria Customs Service
“That is how we can begin to see the kind of transformation we are talking about.”
– Bashir Adeniyi, Comptroller General, Nigeria Customs Service
WHAT’S NEXT
The NCS is expected to continue implementing its modernisation reforms, including B’Odogwu, the Authorised Economic Operator programme and the Advance Ruling mechanism, alongside its revenue collection, trade facilitation and border management functions.
BOTTOM LINE
The NCS says its ongoing reforms and revenue collection efforts form part of its contribution to Nigeria’s $1 trillion economic ambition. Adeniyi said the target would depend on turning plans into concrete and measurable results.
 has reaffirmed its commitment to Nigeria’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy by 2030, ...){kind=link}