By Oluyinka Onigbinde & Joshua Yousouph
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Zone A, has set a revenue target of nearly N8 trillion for 2026, even as declining cargo volumes at major ports and border commands continue to put pressure on revenue collection.
Zonal Coordinator, Assistant Comptroller-General (ACG) Mohamed Babandede, disclosed this during an interaction with the editorial team of the Maritime Reporters’ Association of Nigeria (MARAN), stressing that Zone A remains committed to contributing significantly to the Federal Government’s revenue drive.
Zone A accounts for about 80 per cent of the NCS’s total revenue and comprises 16 commands, including Apapa, Tin-Can Island, Lekki Deep Sea Port, PTML, Seme and Ogun commands.
Babandede said the zone was banking on ongoing reforms, automation and technology-driven processes to improve revenue collection while making legitimate trade faster, easier and more predictable.
He explained that the Service was increasingly prioritising compliant traders and consignments, noting that properly documented cargo could complete the clearance process and exit Customs control within 48 hours.
According to him, the NCS is also strengthening its one-stop-shop approach to prevent unnecessary interventions after cargo has undergone the required examination and has been formally released.
He stressed that once a consignment had been properly examined and released, it should not be subjected to further stoppages by Customs officers elsewhere in the country.
“Any intelligence or information requiring further intervention should be acted upon before the cargo is released,” Babandede said, noting that the approach was aimed at eliminating avoidable delays and facilitating legitimate trade.
The Zonal Coordinator further disclosed that the NCS was working towards achieving fully paperless operations by the end of 2026, with key stages of the cargo clearance process, including declaration, examination and release, increasingly moving to electronic platforms.
He said the digital transformation would also cover transit cargo, with electronic tracking systems being deployed to improve visibility and accountability across the supply chain.
Babandede, however, cautioned that the success of the Customs trade facilitation drive would depend significantly on the level of compliance by importers and other stakeholders.
He urged importers to ensure that their declarations were accurate, complete and transparent, stressing that technology alone could not eliminate delays where traders submitted inadequate or misleading information.
The Zone A Coordinator maintained that the NCS was seeking to strike a balance between revenue mobilisation, trade facilitation and effective border control, particularly at a time when declining cargo volumes were placing additional pressure on government revenue expectations.
He said the combination of automation, improved compliance and faster cargo clearance remained central to the Service’s strategy of boosting revenue without unnecessarily frustrating legitimate trade.
With Zone A responsible for the bulk of Customs’ revenue generation, the success of the reforms could prove critical to the NCS’s ability to meet its 2026 revenue expectations while improving the efficiency and competitiveness of Nigeria’s ports and trade corridors.
