The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), on Wednesday, said that it did not have details of the Customs $3.2 billion modernization project.
The Comptroller General of the NCS, Adewale Adeniyi made the disclosure at the National Assembly, when he appeared before the Senate Joint Committee, scrutinising the 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).
Adeniyi was represented at the public hearing organised by the Senate Joint Committee on the 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper, by the Deputy Comptroller General Mba Musa.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa, is leading Chairmen of the Appropriations, National Planning, Local and Foreign Debts Committees, to conduct the investigative hearing.
The Senators inquired from the Customs CG, details of the agreement signed by the Federal Government on the Modernization of Nigeria Customs.
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) had in April 2023, approved the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) modernisation project, also known as e-customs, despite a court order restraining the Federal Government from going on with the initiative.
The administration of ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, specifically approved the implementation of the Customs modernization project to a concessionaire.
The concessionaire is Bergman Securities Consultant and Suppliers Limited as the project sponsor, Africa Finance Corporation UFC as lead financier while Huawei Technologies will be trained as lead technical service provider.
However, stakeholders have knocked the project, saying it’s to mortgage the future of the service and also inimical to national security.
Speaking on the modernisation project before the Senate joint Panel, Mba told the lawmakers that the Nigeria Customs Service was not privy to details of modernization agreement.
“We are not privy to details of modernization agreement of the Nigeria Customs Modernisation Project,” Mba told the federal lawmakers.
He also declared that the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) lost of N1.3 trillion in 2023 due to waivers and concessions the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration granted to investors.
He explained that NCS would have generated more revenue to the nation’s Consolidated Revenue Fund in 2023 if not because of the waivers and concessions arrangements.
Not satisfied with the arrangement, Musa, the Chairman of the Joint Committee, said the that the Senate would commence investigation into granting of waivers and concesioning in the country, saying, “by now we shouldn’t be taking about concession for cement manufacturers, we should not even be taking about sugar importation.
“We should not deny ourselves, revenues that we should generate to make our economy vibrant. By now, we should be consolidating on waivers given to boost revenues.We would review the waivers and make our recommendations. By now, you (NCS) should be meeting up on your projected target, if there are no waiver,” Musa stated.
