The National President of Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON), Otunba Frank Ogunojemite, has kicked against the N12trillion revenue target set for Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), warning that it would increase inflation and impoverish the populace.
Ogunojemite made this call in a birthday celebratory message share to mark his birthday today (Wednesday).
According to him, the recent N12trillion revenue target for 2025 given to Customs is an ill-advised recommendation that should be jettisoned in the interest of the nation.
“Today, am celebrating my birthday in far away United States of America; but my heart, my love and birthday message is dedicated to saving the Nigerian economy from crisis occasioned by needless financial targets.
“I enjoin the National Assembly to note that beyond the huge revenue generation for Customs which increases year-on-year, several Nigerian businesses are being crippled while the ordinary citizens suffer from inflated costs of services and products which have been imported and mandated to pay high Customs duties.
“My observation in port business is that high customs duty in Nigeria can lead to several negative consequences, including increased cost of imported goods for consumers, hindering business growth, discouraging foreign investment, promoting smuggling activities, and potentially impacting the overall economy by raising inflation and reducing purchasing power,” the APFFLON President said.
News Diet recalls that the National Assembly through its Joint Committee on Finance significantly increased the 2025 revenue projections for the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) during a budget defence session in Abuja, the committee raised the NCS’s initial revenue target from N6.5 trillion to a bold N12 trillion.
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, had earlier presented a projection of N6.5 trillion for 2025, following a robust performance in 2024, where NCS generated N6.1 trillion.
However, the committee, led by Senator Sani Musa and Hon. James Faleke, deemed the projection insufficient given the NCS’s potential.
Ogunojemite listed some consequences of unrealistic Customs targets and high Customs duties to include: higher consumer prices, especially for essential items; discouraging business investment as high costs importing necessary raw materials and equipment lead to higher production costs.
While noting that the NCS has performed admirably in curbing smuggling, he opined that a closer look at the menace would reveal that high customs duties that incentivize smuggling because several honest businesses and individuals try to circumvent customs regulations to avoid paying high taxes which also impacts government revenue.
Amid Nigeria’s optimism to benefit in the regional trade under African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, he stressed that pressure to generate huge revenue at ports and high import duties can make Nigerian businesses less competitive in the global market, as their products may be more expensive compared to imported goods.
He warned that the far-reaching implications of increase Customs target would be a negative impact on economic growth and massive job losses as businesses are unable to operate efficiently due to high import costs.
“As businesses struggle to navigate economic uncertainties more effectively, preserving capital and maintaining operational agility, amidst these turbulent times, the smart choice is for the National Assembly to inspire Customs to tilt towards trade facilitation rather than revenue generation anchored on import duties,” the veteran freight forwarder added.
