…Orders Service On Monthly Performance Reports On Budget
The Joint Committee on Customs and Excise of the National Assembly has called for the implementation of the 4% Free On Board (FOB) levy by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and also ordered the Service to begin to submit monthly performance reports on its 2024 and 2025 budgets to the committee.
The resolution was based on an interactive session with the committee by the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Mr. Wale Edun, and the Comptroller-General of the NCS, Adewale Adeniyi on Monday at the National Assembly;
Speaking during the session, Chairman of the Committee, Sen. Jibrin Isah, expressed concern of the Legislature over the low performance of capital, overhead, and personnel components of the 2024 budget, and harped on the need for accountability and full adherence by MDAs to fiscal laws enacted by the National Assembly.
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Contributing to the deliberation, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, linked the delayed implementation of the 4% FOB policy to demands by stakeholders for broader consultations.
He pointed out that the reciprocal tariff regime was designed to stimulate industrial growth by facilitating machinery imports that support local manufacturing. He further assured that the National Single Window Project remains on track.
In his remarks, Comptroller-General of the NCS, Adewale Adeniyi, maintained that the failure to fully implement the FOB policy had hindered the Service’s budget performance, as key stakeholders were yet to agree on the implementation of the levy.
He reiterated the Customs Service’s commitment to enhancing the nation’s import-export business in view of the benefits to the economy and revenue generation to the government.
On concerns about the nation’s border management, the Comptroller-General explained that while some restrictions remained, commodities like rice are permitted at designated entry points, assuring the Service’s commitment to reducing arbitrary checkpoints and pledged that future recruitment would be streamlined and guided by the federal character principle.
At the end of the deliberation, the Committee mandated the NCS to implement the 4% FOB policy without further delay and also to begin monthly reporting on the concurrent implementation of its 2024 and 2025 budgets.
