Nigeria loses N34 trillion to import duty waivers

Economists and financial analysts are alarmed following the revelation that Nigeria lost N34 trillion, which represents 61 percent of the 2025 budget, to import waivers in the same year.

DAILY POST reports that the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adeniyi, said duty exemption certificate approvals granted by the federal government on goods and equipment amounted to N34 trillion.

Adeniyi made the disclosure in an investigative hearing on the Senate Committee on Finance on Monday.

According to him, the country’s import duty exemption certificate issuance has depleted the nation’s revenue.

He noted the federal government’s fiscal measures have both positive and negative impacts on the service’s revenue generation capacity.

He said, “IDEC approvals reached about N34 trillion in 2025, 60 percent of which was rightly done by the government related to military hardware procurements, which attracted duty exemptions because of Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.

“Other government-backed waivers included the importation of compressed natural gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, and food import intervention programs,” he stated.

DAILY POST reports that customs generated N7.28 trillion as revenue for 2025.

This means that Nigeria lost more than four times its generated revenue in the year under review to import waivers amounting to N34 trillion.

Credit: dailypost.ng

 

 

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