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President Tinubu’s reforms push customs revenue to ₦1.3 Trillion in Q1 2025 — CG Adeniyi

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The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has recorded an unprecedented revenue of ₦1.3 trillion in the first quarter of 2025, more than double the ₦600 billion collected during the same period in 2023.

In a statement released on Saturday, May 24, 2025, by Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy, the Comptroller-General of Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi attributed this remarkable growth to transformative reforms under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, as revealed in an upcoming State House documentary marking the President’s second anniversary.

Adeniyi highlighted that the revenue surge emanated from improved technological deployment, enhanced port operations, tightened enforcement on revenue leakages, and a renewed culture of accountability across Customs commands.

“We collected ₦1.3 trillion in Q1 2025 alone. This is not due to higher import volumes. Imports have dropped due to foreign exchange constraints.

“What has changed is efficiency, transparency, and enforcement,” the Comptroller-General said.

He disclosed that the Service is preparing to launch the E-Customs Modernisation Project.

This $3.2 billion initiative will digitise cargo processing, surveillance, and payment systems across Nigeria’s ports and borders.

“We’re laying the foundation to move from a manual, paper-based system to a fully digital service. The E-Customs Project is central to our future. Once fully deployed, we project it will add $250 billion in cumulative revenue over 20 years,” he said.

Adeniyi added that the newly launched Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) Programme is now onboarding pre-vetted importers, allowing compliant businesses faster processing and reducing port congestion.

“It’s about trust and efficiency. If you’re compliant, you get green-lane treatment. This is how modern customs systems work globally,” he said.

The Customs CG confirmed that the Service has intensified its anti-smuggling operations and closed long-standing revenue leakages.

He said over ₦64 billion was recovered from previously under-assessed or undervalued imports in the last nine months, and major smuggling rings at the Seme, Idiroko, Katsina, and Sokoto borders have been dismantled.

He said the new joint border patrol task forces established in coordination with the Nigerian Army, DSS, and Police have also yielded positive results.

“We’re no longer just chasing smugglers in the bush. We’re using data, surveillance drones, and port intelligence to act in real-time. Once systemic leakages are now being plugged,” ” Adeniyi said.

To ease trade and reduce business costs, Adeniyi disclosed that NCS is fast-tracking the roll-out of the National Single Window.

This digital portal will integrate all government agencies involved in cargo clearance.

“Right now, you deal with up to 15 agencies manually. With the Single Window, you’ll do it all online, in one place. This will slash clearance time and costs,” the CG explained, adding that clearance timelines at Apapa and Tin Can Ports have already dropped from 21 days to 7–10 days for compliant importers.

The Comptroller-General said the agency has introduced fast-track lanes for agro-exports and is working with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) to streamline outbound cargo processes in line with the government’s push for non-oil exports.

“We’re promoting exports aggressively. Last year, Nigeria exported over ₦340 billion worth of solid minerals and agro commodities through formal channels, up by 38%. We’re targeting even more in 2025,” he said.

He stated that the Customs Service is also undergoing internal transformation, with over 1,800 officers trained in advanced data analytics, risk profiling, and artificial intelligence.

“Customs is no longer just about physical inspection. We are becoming an intelligence-led organisation, and our officers are being retrained to match global standards,” Adeniyi said.

“The President gave us a clear directive: block leakages, facilitate trade, and raise revenue without burdening Nigerians. That is what we are doing. And the results are beginning to speak for themselves.”

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BREAKING: Fire guts Fresh FM office in Ibadan

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A fire outbreak has been reported at a popular Ibadan radio station, Fresh FM, at Felele area in Ibadan South-West local government area of the Oyo State capital on Friday.

The incident, which started a few hours ago, has disrupted other related activities at the station.

A staff member of the station, @Arugboboisi, confirmed the incident on Friday evening in a post on his X handle.

He appealed to the Fire Service to respond without delay and urged the public to help spread the word and notify the nearest fire station.

“Fresh FM is currently on fire! We urgently need the Fire Service to respond immediately. Please retweet, spread the word and alert the nearest station,” he posted.

In another post, he shared the fire raging with “What a night” as the caption.

It is unclear what caused the fire, whether it has been put out or the extent of the damage.

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APC Declares Canadian IAD Reports False

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Felix Morka, the National Publicity Secretary
All Progressives Congress (APC) on Friday urged the Party faithful, supporters and all Nigerians to disregard the report labelling the party as a terrorist organisation by the Canadian Immigration Appeal Division [IAD), saying its false and misleading.

Morka, in a statement on Friday, stated categorically that the Canadian court did not declare APC as a terrorist organisation, contrary to highly erroneous media reports in circulation.

He clarified:

“As reported, the declaration was allegedly made in the case of Douglas Egharevba and the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, in which the Applicant (Douglas Egharevba) sought judicial review of a decision by ] which determined that the Applicant was inadmissible in Canada under its Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).

In a decision in the matter dated June 17, 2025, Judge Phuong T.V. Ngo dismissed the application for judicial review on the ground that the Applicant was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and that the PDP was an organization engaged in acts of subversion under paragraph 34(1)(b.1) of the IRPA making him inadmissible in Canada.

In his analysis, the Judge stated, “As such, applying the reasonableness standard of review, I cannot find the IAD’s conclusion that the Elections in question constituted a democratic process or institution and that the PDP, its members and supporters engaged in subversive acts committed against the electoral process for the improper purpose of maintaining political power to be unreasonable.”

To be clear, the only reference to APC in the entire 16-paged decision was in the introductory “Background”, Paragraph 4, where the court referenced a “Background Declaration Form in which the Applicant stated that “he was a member of the People’s Democratic Party [PDP] of Nigeria from December 1999 until December 2007, and a member of All Progressives Congress [APC] party of Nigeria from December 2007 until May 2017.”

For the record, APC was not in existence as of 2007.

The Party was registered in 2013. The Applicant’s claim of membership of APC as of 2007 is evidently false, as he could not have been a member of APC, which didn’t exist then.

For the avoidance of doubt, we dare to state that the court never made any determination on the question of terrorism in its decision. In the Judge’s own words:

“Having found that the IAD’s analysis on subversion was reasonable, this is sufficient to dismiss the application for review. I will therefore refrain from analysing the IAD’s findings on terrorism.”

Clearly, reports that the APC was declared a terrorist organisation by the Canadian court in this matter are patently erroneous, if not mischievous.

The court did not make such a declaration, and could not have done so, as that would be an unjustifiable overreach and a major breach of fair hearing, among other due process rights, given that APC was not a party to the proceedings.

Such a decision would also have been of absolute irrelevance as being made without jurisdiction, and of no extraterritorial applicability or significance. “

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Okonjo-Iweala Says Nigerian Economy now stable under Tinubu

“The reforms have been in the right direction. The next step is growth, and alongside that, building social safety nets so those feeling the pinch of reforms can get support.”

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THE Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, declared that President Bola Tinubu and his team have worked hard to stabilize the economy.

“You cannot really improve an economy unless it’s stable,” said Okonjo-Iweala during a meeting today with President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

“The reforms have been in the right direction. The next step is growth, and alongside that, building social safety nets so those feeling the pinch of reforms can get support,” she said.

She added that growth, job creation, and income expansion must go hand-in-hand with measures to cushion the impact of ongoing reforms on vulnerable Nigerians.

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