President Bola Tinubu has lauded the feat performed by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) by generating N5.7 trillion revenue which surpasses the set target for 2024.
The president gave the commendation in his opening remarks at the Comptroller-General of Customs Annual Conference 2024 held in Abuja on Wednesday.
The CGC conference which had the theme: Nigerian Customs Service: Engaging Traditional and New Partners with Purpose, attracted top government officials, captains of industry, foreign envoys as well as trade and industry stakeholders.
The NCS’ exceptional performance has also drawn commendations by scores of other government officials, economic experts, stakeholders, financial institutions among others was achieved under the leadership of the Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi.
“These achievements demonstrate that our policies are yielding positive results, making Nigeria increasingly attractive for both domestic and international investors,” the president said.
“The vision to strengthen Nigeria’s economic development base remains,” he added.
President Tinubu who was represented by the National Security Adviser NSA, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu also disclosed that Nigeria’s Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) has exceeded $30 billion over the past year.
He stressed that the improvements had been creating new opportunities for Nigerian businesses to participate more actively in global trade.
Tinubu, however, linked the success of the economic initiatives to the role of some strategic institutions and their dedicated personnel such as the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
“I am pleased to note that the Nigeria Customs Service is one of the agencies that has risen to this expectation, demonstrating how government institutions can effectively contribute to our economic transformation agenda while fulfilling their core mandates,” he noted.
“While building on these foundational reforms, we have expanded our focus to strengthen Nigeria’s position in global trade and investment. Through strategic initiatives, we are enhancing trade facilitation, modernizing our port infrastructure, and streamlining business processes to reduce barriers to trade.
“Our commitment to creating an enabling business environment has resonated with the international investment community. The confidence in our economy is reflected in the significant surge in foreign direct investments, which has exceeded $30 billion in the past year.
“The Nigeria Customs Service has shown remarkable progress in revenue generation, enhancing government’s capacity to fund critical national development projects. Through strategic reforms, the Service is strengthening Nigeria’s position as a trade-friendly nation, particularly in the areas of export promotion and port efficiency. This has contributed significantly to our improved global ranking in the ease of doing business.
“The Service has also demonstrated that effective trade facilitation can coexist with strong regulatory compliance, as evidenced by its enhanced border security and anti-smuggling operations. These achievements affirm our administration’s belief that public institutions, when properly aligned with national objectives, can effectively drive transformative change.
“While these results are encouraging, they represent only the beginning of what we can achieve through focused institutional reforms and alignment with national objectives,” Tinubu said.
