Senate approves Customs’ 2026 budget, backs N11.074trn revenue target
Senate Approves Nigeria Customs Service 2026 Budget Proposal
The Nigerian Senate approved the 2026 budget proposal for the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Wednesday. The plan includes a revenue target of ₦11.074 trillion and total expenditures of ₦1.295 trillion for the upcoming fiscal year.
The decision followed a report presented by Senator Isah Jibrin, chairman of the Senate Committee on Customs, Excise, and Tariffs, during a plenary session. Jibrin noted that the committee evaluated the agency’s budget performance for 2025 before reviewing the estimates for 2026.
He reported that the Customs Service had surpassed its 2025 revenue target of ₦6.5 trillion by generating approximately ₦7.2 trillion, achieving a success rate of 110.53 percent. However, Jibrin explained that the Customs Service’s performance could have been even higher if not for the suspension of telecom excise duty, healthcare production incentives, and the impacts of global trade disruptions caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which notably affected wheat imports.
In terms of expenditures, although the Customs Service had an approved budget of about ₦1.132 trillion for 2025, actual spending reached ₦591 billion. Jibrin attributed the shortfall in capital expenditure to delays in approvals from the Bureau of Public Procurement and the Federal Executive Council, which caused several projects to be postponed to 2026.
Jibrin outlined that the projected revenue target for 2026 would stem from enhanced technology deployment, improved revenue recovery mechanisms, and real-time audit systems. The proposed budget of ₦1.295 trillion includes ₦421 billion for personnel costs, ₦307 billion for overheads, and ₦565 billion for capital projects.
The funding is expected to primarily come from the statutory four percent Free on Board levy as stipulated in the Nigerian Customs Service Act of 2023. Following its review, the committee recommended that the Senate approve both the revenue target and expenditure estimates.