CSO Accuses NCS of Connivance with Agents to Under declare Revenue

A rights group, Empowerment for Unemployed Youth Initiative (EUYI) has accused the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) of conniving with clearing agents and other stakeholders to compromise the revenue collection process despite its claim of recording increase in tax collection.

The group regretted that despite the enabling laws as well as robust, coordinated tax reforms which are aimed at blocking revenue loopholes and widening the tax net, the NCS, though parading an increase in revenue generation from 3.207 trillion naira in 2023 to 6.105 trillion in 2024 and a targeted revenue of N6.584 trillion for 2025 has actually failed to make a true impact in the economy aside fleecing Nigerians.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja, Comrades Danesi Momoh Prince and Igwe Ude-umanta; National Coordinator and Secretary respectively of EUYI, described the NCS as an epicenter of gross systemic corruption and mindless budgetary fraud.

According to the press text, “apart from its heavily padded, fraudulent and highly inflated budget, the inability of NCS to raise more than 80 percent of its current revenue stems from the fact that, the leadership and personnel of the Service have devised a criminal policy termed ‘short pay’, in connivance with clearing agents to share the supposed revenue that would have accrued to the federal government.

“Short Pay, a system of discretionary evaluation of goods where importers and their agents are allowed to pay far less than the official duties is fraught with corruption and criminal compromise. In a situation where an agent collected 3.6 million naira to clear a car, paid 2.1 million naira to the government and shared 1.5 million naira with whoever evaluated the car is nothing but fraud.

“This is sadly happening across board on all imports. Its indeed a shameful systemic fraud and financial crime and injustice against the Nigerian State, perpetrated by an agency charged with the responsibility of generating revenue to drive economic growth.

“Even more shocking is the realization that, the Comptroller General of Customs is directly collaborating with the perpetrators of this crime. After repeatedly refusing to act on our complaints, it has become obvious that he has no desire to put an end to these crimes because he is the chief architect and beneficiary. This is highly unacceptable under the staunch anti-corruption posture of the current administration”.

EUYI also raised eyebrows about the 2024 and 2025 NCS Budgets which it said are nothing but scandalous documents without any legislative scrutiny, adding that the Senate Committee on Customs and Excise has been petitioned to provide answers to some burning issues to the Nigerian public

“Aside the zero legislative scrutiny, there’s no evidence of remittance to Federal Government coffers, the balances from the actual releases of the preceding years. This is in addition to emoluments not commensurate to the stated staff figures, inflatory figures, fraudulent inclusion of items from previous budgets and repetition of items of non-perishable nature from the previous budget.

“For a country that’s always borrowing to find its budget, it is absurd for the National Assembly to approve a budget increment of NCS from 706,434,216,877 (seven hundred and six billion, four hundred and thirty-four million two hundred and sixteen thousand, eight hundred and seventy-seven naira) in 2024 to N1,132,548,855,205 (one trillion, one hundred and thirty-two billion, five hundred and forty-eight million, eight hundred and fifty-five thousand, two hundred and five naira) in 2025.

“The details are even more scandalous. In 2024, NCS reported that it has a balance of N27.37 billion from Federal Government’s actual budgetary release. We are not told what happened to that balance. In 2024, the budget provided for revised salary structure and proposed recruitment of 1,601 cadets. No recruitment was eventually made in that fiscal year. The budget for personnel cost stood at N225.99 billion. But in 2025 it came to 247.16 billion without an explanation of how about N22 billion was added, except that we know that 3,927 cadets were to be recruited.

“Surprisingly too, consolidated salaries for 2024 is 150.29 billion naira. But in 2025 under the same leadership, it has been reduced to 112. 58 billion naira even when a recruitment of nearly 4,000 cadets is to happen.

Also, there was a provision for recruitment of 1, 601 cadets in 2024 for 4.28 billion naira while in 2025, a provision for the recruitment of 3,927 cadets was jacked to 24.50 billion naira (an extra over 20 billion naira for additional 2,326 cadets. Also, provision for promotion is 13.31 billion naira in 2024 and 44.90 billion naira in 2025 (over 33 billion naira) for same thing in a space of 1 year. These are just but a few examples of the well-orchestrated scams in NCS”, the text stated

The text decried the illegal tenure extension of the Comptroller General of Customs and called on “unemployed, underemployed, hungry and suffering Nigerians who have been short-changed to join the struggle to force Mr. Adeniyi out of office and demand an investigation into his inglorious tenure”.

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