The Nigerian Customs Service's 2026 budget plan, which calls for N11.074 trillion in revenue and N1.295 trillion in expenditures for the 2026 fiscal year, was approved by the Senate on Wednesday. The decision came after the Senate Committee on Customs, Excise, and Tariffs' report was reviewed and approved in plenary.
The committee looked at the agency's 2025 budget performance before looking at its 2026 predictions, according to the report's chairman, Senator Isah Jibrin. He claims that the Customs Service generated almost N7.2 trillion, a performance of 110.53 percent, above its 2025 revenue objective of N6.5 trillion.
The committee revealed that the Customs Service actually spent N591 billion in 2025, despite having an approved budget of almost N1.132 trillion.
According to Jibrin, the low capital use was due to delays in project approvals by the Federal Executive Council and the Bureau of Public Procurement, which postponed several projects until the 2026 fiscal year.
He clarified that the Customs Service intends to use more technology, strengthen revenue recovery strategies, implement real-time audit systems, facilitate commerce better, and step up anti-smuggling efforts in order to reach its N11.074 trillion revenue objective.
The committee added that the N1.295 trillion proposed spending includes N565 billion for capital projects, N307 billion for overhead, and N421 billion for personnel costs. It further stated that the Nigerian Customs Service Act, 2023's mandatory four percent Free on Board fee would be the primary source of funding for the budget.
The committee recommended that the projected revenue target and expenditure estimates be approved by the Senate based on its findings.
Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin contributed to the discussion by praising the Comptroller-General of Customs and the agency's staff for their work and praising the committee for what he called a thorough report.
According to Barau, President Bola Tinubu's decision to prolong the Comptroller-General of Customs' term was justified by the high revenue performance. "You have an organization that produced N7.2 trillion instead of the about N6.5 trillion that was budgeted for.
We are so proud of the Comptroller-General and his team for their outstanding accomplishment," he remarked.
He continued by saying that the agency only spent N591 billion in 2025, with a large amount going toward capital projects rather than overhead, despite the notable increase in revenue generation.
He claimed that the plan to produce more than N11 trillion in 2026 shows how confident the Customs leadership is in the innovations and changes implemented within the agency.
It demonstrates exceptional financial restraint for an organization to suggest producing N11 trillion while only spending N1.2 trillion to operate. "Nigerians should be proud of this institution," Barau said.
He added that good financial management is shown in the expenditure pattern, which gives priority to capital investments above overhead expenses. The revenue target and expenditure estimates were unanimously agreed by MPs when Senate President Godswill Akpabio called for a voice vote on the committee's recommendations.
Akpabio praised the leadership of the Nigerian Customs Service for their work and praised the Senate Committee on Customs, Excise, and Tariffs for what he called a comprehensive examination of the budget proposal.
He expressed optimism that the agreed budget will improve the Customs Service's operations and increase the Federal Government's income generation while thanking senators for their contributions.
The Federal Government is counting on increased non-oil revenue to boost budget execution and lessen reliance on borrowing, and the approval coincides with the National Assembly's ongoing legislative review of the 2026 budgets of major revenue-generating agencies.