….Customs says technology, compliance, enforcement and a more predictable forex market helped push Apapa’s July collection above its previous monthly record.

Customs says reforms, improved compliance and a more stable foreign exchange market helped drive the record collection, but independent data on the July figure is still awaited.

The Apapa Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service says it collected ₦323 billion in revenue in July 2026, surpassing the ₦304 billion monthly record it reported in October 2025.

The figure, disclosed by Customs Area Controller Comptroller Emmanuel Oshoba at a meeting with senior officers on 11 August, would make July the command’s highest monthly collection if independently confirmed.

The command attributed the performance to operational reforms, improved compliance, intelligence-led enforcement and what it described as greater stability in the foreign exchange market.

A sharp rise from previous record

The reported July collection represents an increase of about 6.3% over the ₦304 billion collected in October 2025.

That earlier figure was reported as a record for a single Customs command. It also exceeded the ₦264 billion the Apapa Command collected in October 2024.

The command later reported total revenue of ₦2.93 trillion for 2025, up 24.32% from ₦2.36 trillion in 2024.

The latest claim therefore continues a pattern of strong revenue growth at Nigeria’s busiest port.

Collections can also change because of exchange rates, import values, tariff assessments, enforcement actions and the volume and composition of goods entering the country.

Customs links performance to reforms

Oshoba credited the performance partly to reforms introduced under Comptroller-General of Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi.

“We recognise and acknowledge the CGC’s devotion and dedication to the modernisation project of the Nigerian Customs Service. The management team has introduced several innovations that have streamlined our activities and given us clear direction,” he said.

One of the systems highlighted by the controller is B’Odogwu, the Customs digital trade platform.

The Nigeria Customs Service says B’Odogwu is designed to simplify trade processing and improve transparency and access to Customs services for traders, licensed agents and partner agencies.

Oshoba acknowledged that the system had experienced difficulties but said improvements had strengthened its performance.

He also pointed to the One-Stop Shop, which brings relevant Customs procedures together in an effort to reduce delays and make cargo clearance more predictable.

That matters to importers because delays at the port can increase storage, transport and other logistics costs.

The command also cited the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) programme as a factor behind the revenue performance.

The AEO system gives compliant businesses preferential treatment in Customs processes, including possible pre-arrival clearance, reduced inspections and faster cargo release.

The programme operates under the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023 and the World Customs Organisation’s SAFE Framework.

The wider Customs programme has already shown measurable revenue gains. The Federal Ministry of Information reported in February that 51 AEO-certified entities increased their revenue contribution from ₦1.222 trillion before certification to ₦1.585 trillion afterwards, a rise of ₦362.79 billion.

That evidence supports Customs’ argument that compliance-based trade facilitation can improve collections, although it does not establish that the AEO scheme alone produced the ₦323 billion July figure.

Enforcement remains part of the revenue strategy

Oshoba also attributed the performance to intelligence-led enforcement.

Customs officers, he said, had intensified interventions against false declarations and other practices that could reduce duty payments.

He urged officers to look beyond routine collections and identify additional revenue that might otherwise be lost.

“In your Area of Responsibility, you must ask yourself, apart from the normal revenue generated by your Unit, what is your own contribution in terms of intervention? What have I added?” he asked.

Recent enforcement activity provides evidence that the command has stepped up seizures alongside revenue collection.

In July, Apapa Customs announced the interception of cannabis and other illicit pharmaceutical products. Customs later handed over seized drugs and prohibited pharmaceutical products with a combined duty-paid value of ₦53.39 billion to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control.

The command also announced the seizure of cannabis valued at about ₦26.57 billion in a separate operation.

Such seizures show the dual role of Customs: collecting revenue while controlling what enters the country.

Forex stability also matters

Oshoba linked the record to the business environment under President Bola Tinubu, particularly the relative stability of the foreign exchange market.

His argument is that more predictable exchange rates help importers estimate costs and plan shipments.

That can, in turn, improve compliance and make legitimate trade easier to manage.

A stronger or more stable naira can change the naira value of imported goods and therefore affect duties, while higher import volumes can increase collections. Customs revenue alone therefore cannot establish whether foreign exchange stability caused the July increase.

Also Read: Apapa Customs Seize ₦26.5bn Cannabis Hidden Among Imported Vehicles

The test for traders is whether clearance gets faster

For businesses using Apapa, the more important question may be whether higher revenue comes with faster and more predictable cargo clearance.

Oshoba stressed that trade facilitation must remain central to the command’s work.

He directed officers to resolve disputes quickly where consignments require further examination and to follow documentation requirements and the Post Clearance Audit process.

The emphasis comes against a background of persistent congestion and access-road problems around Apapa.

In July, Oshoba appealed to the Ports Authority Police to help keep port corridors clear, warning that delays in moving cleared consignments could cause congestion and affect both trade and Customs revenue.

His latest instruction to personnel was also aimed at improving interactions with traders.

“When you interact with stakeholders, let them leave your office with hope rather than despair. As a leader, do not allow anyone who comes to you to depart feeling hopeless or depressed. Give people hope.”

That promise will ultimately be judged by importers, freight forwarders and other port users through the speed, predictability and cost of cargo clearance.

A bigger collection also brings a bigger accountability question

The reported ₦323 billion is significant for government revenue at a time when the Federal Government is seeking to strengthen non-oil revenue.

The public and businesses will also want to know how much of the increase came from higher trade volumes, exchange-rate movements, enforcement interventions, tariff assessments and improved compliance.

They will also want to see whether reforms reduce opportunities for arbitrary assessments, delays and other costs associated with moving goods through Nigerian ports.

For Customs, the next challenge is therefore not simply to break another revenue record.

It is to show that increased collections can coexist with transparent procedures, faster cargo movement, lawful enforcement and a lower cost of doing business.

Oshoba told officers to treat the July performance as a foundation rather than an endpoint as the year progresses.

The next set of monthly revenue figures, alongside independently verifiable trade and Customs data, will provide a clearer test of whether the July result represents a sustained improvement or another temporary peak.

The Nigeria Customs Service is seeking amendments to the law governing its operations, saying parts of the three-year-old legal framework are no longer suited to the speed at which international trade and customs technology are changing.

The request was made during a capacity-building retreat for the Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariffs on 5 August 2026, where Comptroller-General of Customs Adewale Adeniyi urged lawmakers to understand the Service’s ongoing reforms before exercising legislative oversight.

The timing is significant. The Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023 replaced several older customs laws and was itself introduced as a modern framework intended to bring customs administration closer to contemporary international practice.

“While some provisions had worked as intended, others had proved difficult to apply or had been overtaken by the rapidly changing trade environment. We are requesting considerable amendments to ensure the Act remains relevant to fast-moving trade policies and supports the Service’s modernisation agenda.”

Why the law matters

The Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023 gives Customs responsibility for collecting customs and excise revenue, administering relevant trade and fiscal policies, facilitating legitimate trade and preventing smuggling and customs fraud. It also provides a statutory basis for electronic customs administration and other modern processes.

The law therefore already anticipates a more technology-driven Customs Service.

Customs points to digital reforms

At the retreat, Deputy Comptroller-General Tijani Abbey listed several initiatives being implemented by the Service.

They include the B’Odogwu Trade Management System, intelligence-led post-clearance audits, the Authorised Economic Operator programme, coordinated border management and greater end-to-end digital integration.

Customs says these measures are intended to increase revenue, make legitimate trade easier and strengthen border security.

B’Odogwu is already being presented by the Service as its indigenous digital customs platform. Customs says the system is designed to bring traders, licensed agents and government agencies into a more integrated digital environment.

The Service has also previously reported substantial revenue associated with the platform. Its May 2026 newsletter said B’Odogwu generated more than N230bn at the PTML Command within its first eight months of deployment and that clearance times for compliant traders had fallen to less than eight hours.

Revenue pressure adds another dimension

The legislative discussion is taking place as Customs assumes a much larger role in Nigeria’s revenue mobilisation.

The Senate approved an N11.074tn revenue target for Customs for 2026 after the Service reported collecting N7.277tn in 2025, exceeding its N6.584tn target by N674.1bn, or 10.24%.

The 2026 target is therefore substantially higher than the previous year’s actual collection.

Senate promises legislative support

Senator Isah Jibrin, chairman of the Senate Committee on Customs, Excise and Tariffs, praised the Service’s revenue performance and said lawmakers were prepared to provide statutory support where necessary.

“What you need to do is to identify your challenges, try to address them as much as possible, so as to have a much more robust, inclusive, and beyond-budget performance. Where you require legislative backing, please do not hesitate to call on us.”

Adeniyi was also congratulated at the retreat on his re-election as chairperson of the World Customs Organisation Council, a position the Presidency has described as recognition of Nigeria’s growing role in global customs administration.

Nigeria should prioritise the blue economy above all other sectors to drive job creation, reduce poverty and diversify from oil, according to a senior official at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

In an opinion piece, Chika Chukwudi — author of Blue Economy: Gateway to a Sustainable Future and a staff member of NIMASA — argued that maritime investment is no longer optional but a “strategic national imperative”.

She said Nigeria’s 850-kilometre Atlantic coastline and access to the Gulf of Guinea position it as a natural maritime powerhouse.

Yet, she noted, the sector contributes far below its potential to national GDP.

“A nation surrounded by water should not be surrounded by economic stagnation,” she wrote.

Why It Matters

Nigeria has long depended on crude oil revenues, leaving its economy exposed to global price shocks.

According to global trade estimates, more than 80% of world trade by volume is carried by sea — a figure experts say Nigeria has not fully leveraged.

Chukwudi argues that expanding ports, fisheries, aquaculture, shipping and coastal tourism could generate millions of jobs across skill levels.

From artisanal fishermen to marine engineers and port managers, she said the sector has unmatched employment capacity.

“If properly harnessed, the blue economy can become Nigeria’s largest employer of labour,” he stated.

Job Creation and Poverty Reduction

Poverty remains most severe in rural and coastal communities, many of which are located near water resources.

Chukwudi said investments in modern fishing techniques, cold storage facilities and export systems could raise incomes at grassroots level.

He added that women in fish processing and marketing, as well as young entrepreneurs in aquaculture, stand to benefit.

Diversification Beyond Oil

For decades, Nigeria’s revenue has fluctuated with oil prices.

Strategic port modernisation, indigenous shipping development and marine renewable energy projects could attract foreign investment and reduce capital flight, Chukwudi said.

She also pointed to opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), where maritime infrastructure could position Nigeria as a regional trade gateway.

Security and Regional Influence

Beyond economics, maritime investment could strengthen national security.

Improved naval surveillance and port systems may reduce piracy and illegal fishing in the Gulf of Guinea — a region previously identified as a piracy hotspot.

Some shipping operators argue that port congestion and high operating costs must be addressed before Nigeria can compete with other African maritime hubs.

What’s Next?

Chukwudi called for prioritising maritime education, strengthening institutions and expanding coastal infrastructure.

She urged the Federal Government to finance aquaculture enterprises and support indigenous shipping lines.

“The blue economy is not just another sector; it is a sleeping giant,” she wrote. “Nigeria’s prosperity lies not only beneath its soil, but upon its waters.”

Whether policymakers will elevate maritime investment above competing priorities remains to be seen.