The Senate has alerted the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) that the N5.079 trillion 2024 revenue target of the agency will be reviewed upwards from the second half of the year to save the country from further borrowings.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Customs, Isah Jibrin stated this Monday at a crucial meeting with the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service NCS, Adewale Adeniyi and top management of the revenue agency.
He said Nigeria is saddled with lot of debt obligations and need to wriggle out of that trap and one of the ways to do that is internally generated revenue.
Senator Jibrin maintained Customs is one of the major providers of internally generated revenue and as it is today, the agency is expected to play one of the major roles in this drive to reduce the country’s debt burden.
On concessions given to some sectors of the economy for example, agriculture, the Kogi East senator said it is for those who are into agricultural services, those who are into solid minerals and those whose services have direct impact on the economy.
Talking about the rate of unemployment in Nigeria, which he described as very high, Senator Jibrin said Customs is not the only employer of Labour as it could only employ the number they agency could adequately take care of.
Answering questions from the law makers, the CG, NCS also disclosed that the service is seeking approval from government to allow them give waivers to owners of smuggled cars to allow them regularize their payment of Customs duties.
This he said will be done after adequate publicity so that those who find themselves in such situation can get their vehicles regularize through payment of duties.
Source: Galaxy TV
