The Senate on Wednesday approved the 2026 budget proposal of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). They backed a revenue target of N11.074 trillion and total spending of N1.295 trillion for the 2026 fiscal year.
The approval came after looking at the report from the Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariffs. This committee is led by Isah Jibrin from Kogi State. They discussed the budget during the plenary session.
Mr Jibrin presented the report. He said the committee looked at how well the agency did with its 2025 budget before checking the 2026 estimates. He revealed that the Customs Service beat its 2025 revenue target of N6.5 trillion, making around N7.2 trillion. This is a performance rate of 110.53 percent.
He explained that the agency could have done even better. The suspension of telecoms excise duty, healthcare production incentives, and global trade issues from the Russia-Ukraine conflict impacted imports, especially wheat.
On spending, Mr Jibrin mentioned that the Customs Service had an approved budget of about N1.132 trillion in 2025. However, they actually spent N591 billion. He said delays in approvals from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) caused a shortfall in capital spending. This led to several projects being pushed to the 2026 fiscal year.
The committee chairman shared that the N11.074 trillion revenue target for 2026 would come from better use of technology, improved revenue recovery methods, and real-time audits. He said the planned N1.295 trillion expenditure includes N421 billion for personnel costs, N307 billion for overheads, and N565 billion for capital projects.
Mr Jibrin added, "The funding is expected to come mainly from the statutory four percent Free on Board (FOB) levy under the Nigerian Customs Service Act, 2023.” The committee recommended that the Senate approve both the revenue target and the spending estimates.
During the discussion, Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau praised the committee for what he called a well-prepared report. He also praised the Comptroller-General of Customs and the entire team for their good work. Mr Barau said the agency's record revenue generation justified President Bola Tinubu's decision to extend the comptroller-general's tenure.
He said, "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 noted that even with the high revenue, the agency spent only N591 billion in 2025. He said more money went to capital projects than to overhead costs. He also called the target of over N11 trillion for 2026 proof of confidence in the new reforms and ideas from the leadership.
He added, "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.”
After the committee's suggestions, Senate President Godswill Akpabio called for a voice vote on the proposals. The lawmakers approved the revenue target and spending estimates unanimously. Mr Akpabio thanked the Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariffs for their careful review of the budget proposal. He also congratulated the Customs leadership for their performance.
He expressed hope that the approved budget would improve the Customs Service's work and increase revenue for the federal government.
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