Customs Zone A eyes N8tr Revenue as NCS Deepens automation , 48- hours Cargo Clearance
By Babatunde Aremu
The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Zone A, has set its sights on generating nearly N8 trillion in revenue in 2026, even as declining cargo volumes continue to pose a challenge to revenue collection across the nation’s major ports and border commands.
Zonal Coordinator, Assistant Comptroller-General Mohamed Babandede, disclosed this during an interaction with the MARAN newspaper editorial team, stressing that the zone remains committed to delivering a substantial portion of the Federal Government’s revenue target for the year.
Zone A, which contributes about 80 per cent of the NCS’s totals revenue, comprises 16 commands, including the Apapa, Tin-Can Island, Lekki Deep Sea Port, PTML, Seme and Ogun commands.
Babandede said the zone was relying on ongoing reforms, automation and technology-driven processes to improve revenue collection while simultaneously making legitimate trade faster and more predictable.
He explained that Customs was increasingly prioritising compliant traders and consignments, with properly documented cargo capable of completing the clearance process and leaving Customs control within 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.
