The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it collected ₦1.75 trillion revenue in the first quarter of 2025, Comptroller General (CG) of Service Wale Adeniyi disclosed this on Tuesday.
Briefing the media on the activities of the Service first quarter of 2025, Adeniyi put duty exemptions on essential food imports between 2024 to the first quarter of 2025 at N95.1 billion. He said the waivers culminated in the current reduction in prices of maize, rice and sorghum being witnessed across the country.
Adeniyi, who said the Service aligned its duty exemptions in support of the federal government’s food security initiatives, noted that the implementation of directives led to a reduction in prices of essential foods.
A breakdown of exemptions granted within the period indicates that in the first quarter of 2025, customs granted ₦45.3 billion (FOB value on maize ), rice (₦751.6 million), and sorghum (₦2.3 billion) which contributed to lowering prices by 12-18% this year. ‘At the same time, the larger exemptions from 2024 on rice (₦45.9 billion FOB) and wheat (₦2.8 billion) are now showing their full effect after taking time to work through the supply chain. This combination of current and past exemptions helps explain the steady improvement in food affordability’.
‘The 2024 measures initially faced delays in reaching markets but eventually increased supplies, while the 2025 waivers provided additional support. Together, these policies have helped stabilise prices by improving availability at different times, showing how customs adjustments can influence food costs both in the short term and over longer periods. The NBS price data reflects this pattern, where the benefits of duty relief emerge gradually but add up to make food more affordable. Results speak louder than plans; faster clearances through B’Odogwu, trusted traders in the AEO program, and measurable food price relief from our exemptions. We’ll keep scaling what works’, Adeniyi said.
The Service in the first quarter of 2025 exceeded its revenue target for the quarter by ₦106.5 billion, achieving 106.47% of its quarterly projection. The Service’s revenue collection for Q1 2025 totalled
₦1.75 trillion. This is against the Service’s annual target of N6.58 trillion; the first quarter’s proportional benchmark stood at ₦1.6 trillion.
‘I’m proud to announce we’ve exceeded this target by ₦106.5 billion, achieving 106.47% of our quarterly projection. This outstanding performance represents a substantial 29.96% increase compared to the same period in 2024, where we collected ₦1,347,705,251,658.31.
‘Our month-by-month analysis reveals even more encouraging details of this growth trajectory. January’s collection of ₦647,880,245,243.67 not only surpassed its monthly target of ₦548.33 billion by 18.12%, but also showed a remarkable 65.77% year-on-year growth. February’s ₦540,105,439,535.18 exceeded its target by 1.3% while achieving 19.97% growth over 2024 figures. March maintained this positive trend with ₦563,516,567,519.20, delivering 2.7% above target and an 11.22% improvement over March 2024. These results substantiate our effective measures to curb revenue losses while streamlining compliant trade. The 29.96% annual increase and steady monthly collections confirm our strategy is working. We’ll maintain this momentum through rigorous enforcement and strengthened partnerships’, the Customs CG said.
He added that the reviewed quarter (first quarter 2025) saw its officers working tirelessly at borders and ports nationwide which led to real progress on multiple fronts – from increasing revenue collections to intercepting dangerous shipments.
Concerning anti-smuggling/enforcement, the Service recorded 298 seizures with a total Duty Paid Value (DPV) of ₦7,698,557,347.67. The figure represents a significant 78.41% increase compared to the ₦4,315,162,568.35 recorded in Q4 2024, demonstrating heightened operational effectiveness.
When compared to Q1 2024’s ₦9,587,256,998.05, the Service observed a 19.70% reduction in DPV. Rice seizure remains the most prevalent seized commodity, with 159 cases involving 135,474 bags valued at ₦939,309,698.00. Petroleum products followed with 61 seizures totalling 65,819 litres (₦43,336,160.81 DPV).
‘Of particular note were 22 narcotics interceptions valued at ₦730.7 million, reflecting our intensified focus on combating drug trafficking. The Service also recorded three high-value wildlife product seizures with a remarkable ₦5,653,522,600.00 DPV, underscoring both the lucrative nature of this illegal trade and our commitment to environmental protection under international conventions.
‘Other notable seizures included textile fabrics (13 cases, ₦134,219,330.00 DPV), retreaded tires (5 cases, ₦104,599,000.00 DPV), and pharmaceuticals (1 case, ₦17,188,000.00 DPV). These comprehensive results demonstrate the Service’s vigilance across all categories of prohibited and restricted goods’, said the CG.
In the area of trade facilitation, the Service processed a total of 327,928 Single Goods Declarations (SGDs) for imports, handling goods with a total mass of 4,910,640,283.33 kilograms and a Cost, Insurance, and Freight (CIF) value of ₦14,807,960,201,235.00.
The figure represents a 5.28% increase in the number of import transactions compared to the 311,492 SGDs processed in Q1 2024, reflecting growing confidence in our trade facilitation measures. The significant 40.14% increase in the mass of imports processed (from 3,504,173,117.33 kg in Q1 2024) demonstrates robust growth in import volumes, while the 26.72% increase in CIF value (from ₦11,685,677,810,129.00 in Q1 2024) indicates a shift towards higher-value goods.
In Q1 2025, the Service processed 8,153 export shipments (SGDs), representing a 6.4% decrease from Q4 2024 (8,710 SGDs) and a 24.4% decline from Q1 2024 (10,786 SGDs). Despite fewer transactions, export mass reached 5.03 billion kilograms – a 10% reduction from Q4 2024’s 5.58 billion kg but a remarkable 348% increase from Q1 2024’s 1.12 billion kg. The CIF value stood at ₦21.51 trillion, showing a 19% increase from Q4 2024’s ₦18.07 trillion while remaining stable compared to Q1 2024’s ₦21.58 trillion.
‘This data clearly suggests Nigeria’s accelerating shift toward bulk commodity exports, with significantly larger shipments being processed through fewer transactions, while maintaining consistent total export value, reflecting both changing trade patterns and improved processing efficiency in our export systems’.
The total trade value handled by the Service in Q1 2025 amounted to ₦36.3 trillion, demonstrating Nigeria’s substantial participation in international trade despite global economic challenges.
Listing some of the service’s achievements in the first quarter of 2025, Adeniyi listed B’Odogwu Platform Expansion, a platform developed for customs clearance as well as the launch of the Authorised Economic Operators (AEO) Programme among others.
Areas of challenges encountered by the Service during the quarter under review were exchange rate volatility, which continued to affect trade patterns and customs valuation.
‘During Q1 2025, we recorded 62 changes in the exchange rate, ranging from a minimum of ₦1,477.72 to a maximum of ₦1,569.53 per USD, with an average rate of ₦1,521.59. This volatility, though slightly moderated compared to the previous quarter (Q4 2024) which saw rates as high as ₦1,688.28, continues to create uncertainty for traders and affects the predictability of import costs. We have been working closely with the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Federal Ministry of Finance to implement measures aimed at stabilising the exchange rate for import declarations’, Adeniyi pointed out.
