Senate frowns at N1.1trn Customs budget, demands strong oversight, monthly reports
By Haruna Salami
The Senate on Wednesday frowned at the Nigerian Customs Service’s proposed ₦1.13 trillion expenditure for 2025, citing deep concerns over unexplained spending surges, repeated rollover of unexecuted projects, and a potentially illegal shift from 4% to 7% cost of collection.
However, the red chamber eventually approved the budget with a stern directive that committee strengthen its oversight and forward monthly reports, amid fears that unchecked customs expenditure and revenue practices could compromise federal fiscal discipline.
“You cannot budget ₦1.1 trillion when last year’s performance was just 49% of a ₦706 billion budget,” Senator Solomon Olamilekan (Ogun West) said. “Where’s the justification for this scale of increase? This is the third year of repeating the same pattern”.
Senators took issue with sharp increases across personnel (₦247bn, up from ₦94bn) and overhead costs (₦239bn, up from ₦56bn) without clear explanations. “Are we hiring thousands overnight? Is there documentation?” asked Senator Tokunbo Abiru (Lagos East). “We can’t keep approving bloated budgets without clarity.”
Another flashpoint was the Customs’ self-adjusted collection rate, shifting from the statutorily approved 4% to a controversial 7%, allegedly without National Assembly approval.
Senator Danjuma Goje warned, “what Customs is doing is not only illegal, it’s dangerous. They claim they consulted stakeholders to override an Act of Parliament. That’s unacceptable.”
The chairman of the Committee on Customs, Senator Isah Jibrin, frankly explained that the service had temporarily adopted the 7% structure while awaiting restoration of the 4% FOB (Free on Board) mechanism. He pledged a meeting with the Minister of Finance to correct the situation.
Lawmakers also questioned the rollover of unexecuted projects from previous years into the new budget, with over ₦300 billion worth of “ongoing” capital projects included again despite earlier approval.
Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) said: “Year after year, they recycle old projects without justification. The public deserves transparency. We must preserve taxpayer money.”
Other senators insisted that Customs’ inflated capital budget failed to reflect current economic realities, especially with the government grappling with high debt servicing, inflation, and insecurity.
Chairman of the committee Isah Jibrin, in response defended the budget’s assumptions, citing projected personnel expansions of over 3,000 recruits and Customs’ MTEF-based revenue forecast of ₦6.5 trillion.
“We will hold them accountable, the personnel, overhead, and capital components are all justified based on internal documents, he said.
However, Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin tactically issued a final caveat thus: “Chairman, sharpen your oversight. You and your committee must give monthly reports to Senate leadership. Customs is central to our revenue; we will not compromise transparency.”
After a heated debate, the Senate passed the ₦1.132 trillion expenditure for the Nigerian Customs Service leaving out the revenue forecast of ₦6.5 trillion, which is already in the Appropriation 2025 Act, while the committee was asked to strengthen monthly oversight, renewed engagement with the Finance Ministry, and forensic review of all carried-over capital projects.