Customs Zone ‘A’ Speeds Up Cargo Clearance to Hit ₦8trn Revenue Goal

By Temitope Adebiyi, Reporter

The Nigeria Customs Service Zone ‘A’ is targeting nearly N8 trillion in 2026 revenue—a bold goal facing headwinds from dropping cargo volumes across major ports and borders.

Zonal Coordinator, Assistant Comptroller-General Mohamed Babandede, disclosed this during an interaction with the members of Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN), stressing that the zone remains committed to delivering a substantial portion of the Federal Government’s revenue target for the year.

Accounting for roughly 80 percent of total NCS revenue, Zone ‘A’ spans 16 commands, including Apapa, Tin-Can Island, Lekki Deep Sea Port, PTML, Seme, Ogun and 10 others.

Babandede said the zone is using ongoing reforms, automation, and technology to improve revenue collection and make legitimate trade faster and more predictable.

He noted that Customs is placing a higher priority on compliant traders. Well-documented shipments can now complete the clearance process and exit Customs control in under 48 hours

According to him, the Service 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 said the principle was straightforward: once a consignment has 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,” he said, noting that the approach was designed to eliminate avoidable delays and facilitate legitimate trade.

The Zonal Coordinator also 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 deployment of technology would also extend to transit cargo, with electronic tracking systems being introduced to provide greater visibility over consignments moving through the supply chain.

Babandede, however, warned that the success of Customs’ trade facilitation efforts would depend largely on the willingness of importers and other stakeholders to comply with established procedures.

He urged importers to ensure that their declarations are accurate, complete and transparent, stressing that technological reforms alone cannot eliminate delays where traders provide inadequate or misleading information.

The Zone ‘A’ boss maintained that Customs’ objective was to strike a balance between revenue mobilisation, trade facilitation and border control, particularly at a time when declining cargo volumes were putting additional pressure on government revenue expectations.