By Chibuzor Alli
Maritime stakeholders have backed the Nigeria Customs Service’s Post-Clearance Audit initiative, saying it will strengthen transparency, revenue assurance, compliance and trade facilitation.
The stakeholders spoke on Thursday in Lagos at a Post-Clearance Audit Sensitisation Programme organised by the Nigeria Customs Service and themed, “Post-Clearance Audit Reform for Greater Transparency and Revenue Protection.”
The National President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, Emenike Nwokeoji, commended the service for organising the sensitisation programme.
Nwokeoji, who was represented at the event by Bola Muse, described Post-Clearance Audit as a globally recognised tool for modern customs administration.
“It promotes voluntary compliance, correct revenue assurance, and the issue of doing business, as licensed customs agents and ANLCA members are critical partners in this process.
“We view PCA not as a punitive measure, but as a collaborative platform to identify gaps, correct declarations, and strengthen trust between the NCS and the trading public. And we pledge our continued support. We intensify member education on accurate classification, validation, and documentation,” Nwokeoji said.
He said the association was pleased that PCA exercises were being conducted with transparency and professionalism and within business timelines.
“We thank the Controller CG and the entire management of Nigeria Customs for this initiative. We look forward to robust engagement that will further deepen our partnership for national economic growth,” he said.
A representative of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce, Laz Shobande, also commended the initiative, saying it would contribute to improving Nigeria’s economy.
“On behalf of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce Fifth World Aspirant Group, and to say a very big thank you for this event, although the notice was short, I am glad to be here with a lot of my colleagues and stakeholders, and we cannot put aside the functions of the Post-Clearance Audit.
“The bottom line is to improve the economy of our country. On that note, I want to thank you for this event, and I wish all of us stakeholders a beautiful deliberation,” Shobande said.
He called for increased engagement between the Customs Service and stakeholders on the Authorised Economic Operator programme introduced by the service.
“But having said that, I want to say again that the aspect of the authorised economic operator, the AEO, we need to be engaged; it’s a well-formed development because it’s an international thing.
“If you are authorised here in Nigeria, then you can operate anywhere in the world. It’s very good. I want to thank the Comptroller General that this is coming on during your time. I think we need some more specialization on that. That’s what I would say,” he said.
Earlier, the Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of PCA, Babatunde Olomu, said the initiative was aimed at strengthening the Post-Clearance Audit office as a strategic instrument for revenue assurance, voluntary compliance, trade facilitation and improved customs administration.
“This agreement comes at a very critical time in our efforts to strengthen the Post-Clearance Audit office as a strategic instrument for revenue assurance, voluntary compliance, trade facilitation, and improved customs administration.
“It also provides an important platform for strengthening understanding, cooperation, and mutual trust between the service and our esteemed stakeholders.”
Olomu said the programme was focused on enhancing stakeholders’ understanding, strengthening revenue assurance, deepening partnership and promoting institutional cooperation.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, said reforms introduced by the service were irreversible, adding that he was pleased some of the initiatives would remain beyond the tenure of the current leadership.
“Some of these reforms are irreversible. There’s nothing we can do about it. We have to go ahead with it. The part that gladdens my heart is that as we are taking our exit from the service, we are happy that we are leaving these initiatives as legacy programmes that have been owned, that have been understood, that have been nurtured by the younger generation of customs officers who are coming behind here,” Adeniyi said.
He said the sensitisation exercise would continue and be extended to other parts of the country.
“This is going to be a continuous conversation. We have started this here in Lagos; I also know that we are going to be in Port Harcourt along the line, and we are also going to gather stakeholders like this together.
“What we have done here today- the presentations, apart from the fact that we put them in your email, there is a document that has been published in conjunction with the World Customs Organisation,” he added.
Adeniyi said the introduction of PCA in Nigeria was linked to the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023 and the Federal Government’s focus on improving revenue and the business environment.
According to Adeniyi, PCA did not arrive in Nigeria by accident.
“It arrived because there were two things that happened at about the same time. The first is the Nigerian Customs Service Act 2023. And that is the Act that gave this service a modern legal foundation.
“And with it, an express mandate to verify compliance after goods have been released. The second is that the Federal Government set a clear direction on revenue and on the business environment. And asks agencies and governments to meet both objectives at once. That instruction deserves to be stated very clearly.”
Post-Clearance Audit is a customs control strategy that allows authorities to examine traders’ compliance after goods have been released. It is designed to support trade facilitation while strengthening compliance and revenue protection through risk-based audits.
The Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023 provides the legal framework for post-clearance verification and supports its use as part of customs risk management and trade facilitation in Nigeria.
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