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Food Import Duties Suspension To Cost FG N187bn – NCS
The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) says the Federal Government will forfeit a total of N187 billion as a result of its directive to suspend import duties on staple food items for the next six months.
Making the disclosure, Tuesday, in Abuja at the 2nd Economic confidential lecture and book presentation in his honour, titled “Impactful Public Relations in Customs Management”, Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, said “The suspension of Customs duties and levies on food staples such as beans, maize, rice and wheat is one of the policies of government to drive down the process of food items.
“However, the implication it will have is revenue forfeitures for the Federal Government.
“For instance, from 2020-2023, the revenue generation from these staple food items was a staggering N3.81 trillion. These imports generated about N189 billion in terms of Customs duties and over N500bn in several levies by the government.
“Wheat alone generated N3 trillion while maize generated 340bn, rice generated 195bn and beans N146bn.
“Therefore, the revenue forfeiture estimated from the suspension of import duties for these stable food items for six months is estimated to be about N187bn”.
He said NCS will await the guidelines from the ministry of finance and we will ensure adequate implementation by enlisting special corridors to clear imports of food items.
Speaking at the occasion, the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, who was represented by the Special Adviser to the President on economic matters, Dr. Tope Fasua, said the food reforms introduced by the government is poised to have a positive impact on the economy in the shortest possible time.
Meanwhile, the Customs CG, Adeniyi, has handed over his vice chairmanship position of the World Customs Organisation, North and Central African region to his Malian counterpart Ahmadou Kounate.
Speaking at the official handing over in Abuja, Adeniyi said the organisation charged to fast-track trade facilitation of member countries have overtime explored best practices that suit different countries and improved capacity development to enhance growth and development.
He added that conscious efforts must be deployed to deploy technology in advancing Customs practice.
On his part, Ahmadou Kounate said he would improve transparency and implement the 2003 and 2007 strategic action plan and also improve manpower development to boost trade facilitation
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Kenya made it a clean sweep at the Berlin Marathon with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s.
Sawe finished in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds to make it three wins in his first three marathons.
The 30-year-old, who was victorious at this year’s London Marathon, set a sizzling pace as he left the field behind and ran much of the race surrounded only by his pacesetters.
Japan’s Akasaki Akira came second after a powerful latter half of the race, finishing almost four minutes behind Sawe, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third.
“I did my best and I am happy for this performance,” said Sawe.
“I am so happy for this year. I felt well but you cannot change the weather. Next year will be better.”
Sawe had Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 in his sights when he reached halfway in 1:00:12, but faded towards the end.
In the women’s race, Wanjiru sped away from the lead pack after 25 kilometers before finishing in 2:21:05.
Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru, also of Ethiopia, coming third in 2:21:29.
Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2:09:56, which she set in Chicago in 2024.
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the disclosure during an inspection of the Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja, last Thursday.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
According to him, the centralised production system aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for improved service delivery.
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has announced plans to roll out Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the Nigerian Data Exchange (NGDX) platforms across key sectors of the economy, starting in early 2026.
Director of E-Government and Digital Economy at NITDA, Dr. Salisu Kaka, made the disclosure in Abuja during a stakeholder review session of the DPI and NGDX drafts at the Digital Public Infrastructure Live Event.
The forum, themed “Advancing Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure through Standards, Data Exchange and e-Government Transformation,” brought together regulators, state governments, and private sector stakeholders to harmonise inputs for building inclusive, secure, and interoperable systems for governance and service delivery.
According to Kaka, Nigeria already has several foundational elements in place, including national identity systems and digital payment platforms.
What remains is the establishment of the data exchange framework, which he said would be finalised by the end of 2025.
“Before the end of this year and by next year we will be fully ready with the foundational element, and we start dropping the use cases across sectors,” Kaka explained.
He stressed that the federal government recognises the autonomy of states urging them to align with national standards.
“If the states can model and reflect what happens at the national level, then we can have a 360-degree view of the whole data exchange across the country and drive all-of-government processes,” he added.
