The Senate on Wednesday approved the 2026 budget proposal of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), endorsing a revenue target of N11.074 trillion and a total expenditure of N1.295 trillion for the 2026 fiscal year.

The approval followed the consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariffs, chaired by Isah Jibrin (APC-Kogi), during plenary.

Presenting the report, Mr Jibrin said the committee assessed the agency’s 2025 budget implementation before examining the 2026 estimates.

He stated that the service exceeded its 2025 revenue target of N6.5 trillion, generating about N7.2 trillion, representing a performance of 110.53 per cent.

He noted that the agency’s performance would have been stronger but for the suspension of telecoms excise duty, healthcare production incentives and global trade disruptions from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which reduced imports, especially wheat.

On expenditure, Mr Jibrin said though the service had an approved budget of about N1.132 trillion in 2025, actual spending stood at N591 billion.

He attributed the shortfall in capital expenditure to delays in approvals by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and the Federal Executive Council (FEC), resulting in several projects being rolled over to the 2026 fiscal year.

The committee chairman explained that the service’s projected N11.074 trillion revenue target for 2026 would be driven by expanded deployment of technology, improved revenue recovery mechanisms, and real-time audit systems.

According to him, the proposed N1.295 trillion expenditure consists of N421 billion for personnel costs, N307 billion for overheads and N565 billion for capital projects.

“The funding is expected to come mainly from the statutory four per cent Free on Board (FOB) levy under the Nigerian Customs Service Act, 2023,” he said.

Based on its review, the committee recommended senate approval of both the proposed revenue target and expenditure estimates.

Contributing to the debate, Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau praised the committee for what he described as a well-prepared report and commended the comptroller-general of customs and the entire workforce for their impressive performance.

Mr Barau said the service’s revenue generation justified President Bola Tinubu’s decision to extend the tenure of the comptroller-general.

“You have an agency that budgeted to generate about N6.5 trillion but ended up generating N7.2 trillion.

“That is a wonderful performance, and we cannot commend the comptroller-general and his team enough,” Mr Barau said.

He noted that despite generating significantly higher revenue, the organisation spent only N591 billion in 2025, with a larger share devoted to capital projects than overhead costs.

Mr Barau also described the service’s projected revenue target of over N11 trillion for 2026 as evidence of confidence in the reforms and innovations introduced by its leadership.

“For an agency to propose generating N11 trillion and spending only N1.2 trillion to run its operations shows remarkable fiscal discipline. This is an institution Nigerians should be proud of,” he added.

Following the committee’s recommendations, Senate President Godswill Akpabio put the proposals to a voice vote, with the lawmakers unanimously approving the revenue target and expenditure estimates.

Mr Akpabio commended the Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariffs for its thorough scrutiny of the budget proposal and congratulated the leadership of the service on its performance.

He also expressed confidence that the approved budget would strengthen the operations of the service and boost revenue generation for the federal government.

(NAN)