Some critical stakeholders in the maritime sector have applauded the endorsement of the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, mfr, by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as timely and a call to do more.
In a statement last week by Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu had commended the outstanding performance of the Customs helmsman whose leadership style it said was top notch, yielding great dividends in the area of revenue generation , trade facilitation and anti smuggling. Speaking exclusively with Shipping World, President emeritus of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, Prince Olayiwola Shittu, observed that President Tinubu’s endorsement of Bashir Adewale’s successes at Customs House, was not only a moral boosting gesture for officers and men and of the service ,but a challenge for them to even do more. ” The Nigeria Customs Service has recorded an unprecedented revenue of N1.3 trillion in the first quarter of 2025, more than double the N600b collected during the same period in 2023″ Bayo Onanuga explained. Onanuga further revealed that the ” the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, attributed this remarkable growth to the transformative reforms under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda ,as revealed in an upcoming documentary marking President Tinubu’s second anniversary ” Onanuga said.
Also in the same vein, incumbent President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, Sir Emenike Nwokoeji, said the level of reform introduced by CGC Adeniyi were unprecedented in the history of the Nigeria Customs Service, hence the acknowledgement by President Tinubu. Nwokeoji urged the Customs chief not to relent despite the obstacles he may encounter on the path to rebrand and transform the Service.
The Comptroller General was said to have acknowledged that the high duty collected had little or nothing to do with cargo traffic at ports, which he said dropped significantly ,but what changed was ” efficiency, transparency and enforcement ” The Customs helmsman was said to have disclosed in the upcoming documentary that ” the Service is preparing to launch the E- Customs Modernization project. This $3.2 billion initiative will digitalise cargo processing, surveillance, and payment systems across Nigerian ports and borders.
We are laying the foundation to move from a manual, paper based system to a fully digital Service. Once fully deployed , the CGC believes it will add $250 billion in cumulative revenue over a period of 20 years.