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NCMDLCA Urges Ghana’s Customs Funding Model Adoption
The National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA) has urged the Federal Government to adopt Ghana’s Customs processes in financing the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
In a letter signed by the NCMDLCA’s National President, Lucky Amiwero, to President Bola Tinubu, obtained by The Tide’s source, NCMDLCA emphasised that Ghana’s Customs operations are funded from an allocated share of three per cent of total import duty and value-added tax collections.
At the same time, 0.4 per cent is assigned to the customs technology platform.
NCMDLCA compared Nigeria’s model with Ghana’s, “which has adopted a more transparent, cost-efficient and internationally compliant approach to funding customs operations.”
According to NCMDLCA, under Ghana’s Export and Import (Amendment) Act 585 of 2000, importers pay an inspection fee capped at two per cent of the total dutiable cost, insurance, and freight value, as the Minister prescribes through legislative instruments.
“The Federal Government should adopt Ghana Customs processes in financing the NCS, because Ghana’s process is the best.
“The structure ensures that charges are tied directly to service delivery, simplifies accountability, and prevents arbitrary cost escalation. Ghana’s model demonstrates how a capped, transparent, and proportionate cost structure, coupled with government-managed inspection infrastructure, supports compliance with global standards,” NCMDLCA said.
NCMDLCA urged Tinubu to set up a committee to review the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023 and its financing framework, stating that, “It’s significantly raising the cost of doing business at the nation’s ports and in violation of international trade facilitation standards.”
The agents highlighted the financial framework embedded in Sections 18, 24, and 44 of the Act, particularly the four per cent Free-on-Board levy on imports, cost-based user fees, advance ruling fees, special service charges, and other multilayered charges tagged as “financing of Customs operations”.
NCMDLCA expressed concern that this would escalate port costs that undermine trade competitiveness.
According to NCMDLCA, these risks inflate port charges, discourage investment, and erode the country’s competitive position in regional trade while also increasing the financial burden on importers, manufacturers, and licensed customs agents.
The group called on the President to establish a committee to align Nigeria’s customs funding and inspection systems with international best practice, “harmonise overlapping agency mandates, and reduce port costs, which are already perceived as the highest in the West and Central African sub-regions.
“The committee should look at the Nigeria NCS Act 2023 to review the duplication, contradiction, and usurping of powers of the Minister and other agencies overlapping that will conflict and affect the process of clearance with other agencies, to harmonise, simplify, and minimise port cost.
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UAC of Nigeria PLC (UAC) has announced the completion of it’s in a press release on October 3, 2025, that it has completed the acquisition of Chivita|Hollandia (CHI Limited), following approval from the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).
Revealing this in a Press Release, at the Weekend, UAC said the transaction, first disclosed on July 30, 2025, involved the transfer of ownership of CHI Limited, a leading Nigerian food and beverage company best known for its market-dominant Chivita juice and Hollandia dairy brands, to UAC.
Commenting on the development, the Managing Director, CHI Limited, Eelco Weber, expressed optimism in the company’s future under UAC’s ownership.
“We are pleased to have received regulatory approval for this transaction. We look forward to a smooth transition and to seeing Chivita|Hollandia thrive under UAC’s ownership,” he said.
Group Managing Director of UAC, Fola Aiyesimoju, highlighted the strategic importance of the acquisition saying “We are excited to officially welcome the Chivita|Hollandia team and brands into the UAC family, and we are eager to work together to build on their strong legacy and market leadership”.
The acquisition is expected to strengthen UAC’s position in Nigeria’s fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector, expanding its footprint into the growing juice and dairy markets.
UAC further said that the acquisition aligned with its growth agenda by adding two market-leading brands and a well-established distribution network to its por.
The National Pension Commission has said it has deployed a framework to restore gratuity for Federal Civil Service under the Contributory Pension Scheme.
Director-General of PenCom, Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed this at a Stakeholders’ Conference on the Workings of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) for Employees and Pensioners of Federal Government Treasury-Funded Ministries, Departments and Agencies, in Abuja, last Thursday.
Represented by the Acting Commissioner, Technical, PenCom, Hon. Hafiz Kawu Ibrahim, Oloworaran said, “Working with the office of the Head of the Civil Service, a framework has been developed to restore gratuity benefits for federal workers under CPS, in line with Section 4(4) of the PRA 2014.”
The PenCom DG added that “PenCom has enhanced pensions for over 241,000 retirees, representing 80% of those under Programmed Withdrawal. Monthly pensions rose from N12.157 billion to N14.837 billion, effective June 2025.
“Also, since July 2025, no retiree waits to access their pensions. Payments are now immediate, aligned with monthly salary releases from the Federal Ministry of Finance”.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, Ekpo Nta, stated that the Commission would partner PenCom to examine the current rate of retirement benefits and recommend appropriate mechanisms for periodic reviews of retirement benefits.
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) have announced a joint initiative to register 250,000 Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) free of charge across the country, with CAC foregoing about ?3 billion in registration fees
The initiative, announced during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Abuja, at the Weekend, seeks to remove barriers such as high costs and bureaucratic challenges that have long kept many small businesses in the informal sector.
The Registrar-General, CAC, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, SAN, explained that the scheme would eliminate the registration fee, helping entrepreneurs access official recognition and grow their businesses.
SMEDAN Director-General, Dr. Charles Odii, added that registration is just the first step, noting that registered businesses will benefit from continuous aftercare such as grants, training, and market access.
Together, the two agencies noted that CAC will forgo approximately ?3 billion in registration fees, while SMEDAN will provide continuous support to help these businesses thrive.
They added that this partnership supports the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope vision to boost Nigeria’s economy by empowering entrepreneurs.
CAC further disclosed measures to ease company registration with the steps as follows: 1. Visit the SMEDAN portal: http://portal.smedan.gov.ng., 2 Sign up and complete your registration on the portal., 3. When asked if you have a CAC number, select “No”., 4. Submit your details to complete the process., 5. Once registration is completed, you will be contacted with the next steps to finalise your free CAC registration.
It further clarified that MSMEs already on SMEDAN’s database without CAC registration automatically qualify for this free registration drive.