General News
Customs, Agents in Crossroad over N1 Trillion Targets
With the urge to meet the 2012 self imposed revenue target of N1 trillion, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) may have found itself at crossroads with the licensed customs agents who are critical of the service’s engaged processes to achieve the feat. Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko , comptroller general of Customs, had during a press chat recently related that the federal government did not give N1.2 trillion targets, rather it was self imposed. “I gave it to myself. The actual target by the government was N800 billion and I should thank the country and the President, his excellency, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan for giving me the opportunity to serve my country. We are working hard to make sure that we collect the maximum revenue as stipulated in the law and to do away with corruption and corrupt officers. Honestly, I don’t think the amount is too much for me, but we pray we work for the benefit of all Nigerians. “What is to be expected this year is high level compliance of stakeholders, because we have mapped out a time table and the first point of call is Lagos. In fact, I hope to meet with the importers of electronics at Alaba International Market, the importers of spare parts at Ladipo and Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN). We will have a very friendly customs, a customs that would do away with corrupt tendencies and work with importers to make their business less stressful. “I envisage a customs that will do things when they are expected to be done; a customs that will advise port users on what to do when they find themselves in difficulties. We are expecting an excellent 2012. We pray God to give us good health and the will to execute our programmes dutifully,” Dikko said. Penultimate week to the said meeting, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek investigations reveal that Nigeria Customs Service new levy scheme tagged: Identified commodities and average transaction values and duty payable,’ shows that a 40- foot container will henceforth attract a custom duty based on a C.I.F value of between N4 million and N10 million, depending on the commodity. Further more, a 20- foot container is to attract a customs duty based on a CIF value of between N2 million and N6.25 million. Scrutinizing the transactional fees the duo of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) and the Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders Importers, Exporters Coalition (SVGFFIEC) frowned at the move. While, the Save Nigeria Group pleaded with the federal government to reverse the decision taken by the Customs Service, NAGAFF, in a statement pragmatically said the N2.5Million benchmark on 40-foot container of electronics goods and others should be reviewed downward in the interest of trade. Chief Osita Chukwu, national coordinator, Safe Nigeria Group, asserted that the decision made by the Comptroller General of Customs will lead to breach of multi –lateral international agreement on trade facilitation, thus breach the national law on customs value of imported items. “The Nigeria Customs Service has by a stroke of the pen revoked an Act of the National Assembly, that is, the Customs and Excise Management [Amendment ]Act No.20 of 2003,which provides that Customs duty shall be determined sequentially by reference of six methods’’. Osita, while listing the adopted method as: “transaction value method, identical value method, similar value, method computed and fall back value method,” he noted that “Importers will not be able to clear goods imported into the country and may be tempted to abandon their goods in the port. Freight forwarders may be tempted to evade duty and fly containers out of the port. \ “Congestion in the port will return as importers will take unnecessarily long periods to secure funds to clear their cargoes,” he predicted. Similarly, Dr Boniface Aniebonam, NAGAFF founder, in a remark advised the customs service to close all loop-holes through which revenues are diverted out the system, instead of imposing strangulating bills on the people.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery is reportedly nearing completion of a $2.5 billion private placement that values the company at about $40 billion ahead of its planned public listing.
Private placement is the direct sale of company shares or bonds to pre-selected investors instead of the general public and it is used to raise money quickly while avoiding strict public reporting rules.
People familiar with the transaction said investors acquired as much as 6 per cent of the refinery, according to a BusinessDay report.
The reported terms would value the business at approximately $40 billion.
Neither Dangote Group nor the refinery has publicly announced the final amount raised, the identities of most subscribers or the precise percentage sold.
The figures should therefore be treated as transaction details supplied by unnamed sources rather than confirmed company disclosures.
The reported $2.5 billion total is nevertheless significant as it indicates strong demand for exposure to a privately controlled refinery that has rapidly become central to Nigeria’s fuel supply and an increasingly important exporter of petroleum products.
The placement was said to have attracted more demand than the available shares, allowing the company to secure substantially more than the amount initially associated with the fundraising exercise.
Femi Otedola, chairman, First HoldCo, is the only major participant publicly identified in the report.
He reportedly committed $100 million to the transaction and sold his investment in Geregu Power Plc to finance the acquisition.
Nigeria’s pension industry was also reportedly cleared to participate.
Access to more than $17 billion in retirement assets would broaden the refinery’s potential investor base beyond wealthy individuals and conventional institutional buyers.
Participation by Pension Fund Administrators would, however, require careful attention to valuation, liquidity and portfolio-concentration limits.
Retirement funds must balance the attraction of a large Nigerian industrial asset against their responsibility to protect contributors’ savings.
The implied $40 billion valuation represents investor expectations about the refinery’s future earnings rather than only the physical cost of constructing the facility.
Its ability to process 650,000 barrels of crude daily gives it a central role in supplying Nigeria and other markets, but its commercial performance remains connected to crude availability, product prices, exchange rates and regulation.
The refinery has struggled to obtain all the Nigerian crude it requires under the government’s naira-for-crude arrangement.
It has consequently purchased some feedstock internationally and recently moved local petroleum-product pricing into dollars to align sales revenue more closely with its foreign-currency expenses.
Those constraints will be important during any public offering.
Prospective shareholders will want greater clarity on crude-supply contracts, debt, operating margins, export revenue and the company’s relationship with Nigerian regulators.
It is also unclear whether the private placement involved newly issued shares, a sale by existing owners or a combination of both.
That distinction determines whether the reported $2.5 billion becomes fresh capital for the refinery or proceeds received by selling shareholders.
The transaction could provide a useful price reference for the planned initial public offering.
Federal government will next month launch Nigeria’s first national organized crime strategy to strengthen the country’s response to terrorism, cybercrime, human and drug trafficking, kidnapping, illicit financial flows, and other forms of organized crime.
Major General Adamu Laka, national coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre under the Office of the National Security Adviser, disclosed this in Abuja during the validation of the strategy document.
He said the strategy provides a coordinated national framework for tackling organized crime through improved intelligence sharing, stronger collaboration among security agencies, and closer cooperation with the criminal justice system, civil society organizations, and international partners.
Major General Laka explained that the document was developed through a partnership involving the Federal Government, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United States Government, and other stakeholders.
Speaking at the event, Cheikh Toure, UNODC representative, said the strategy would strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to combat transnational crimes, including drug trafficking, cybercrime, human trafficking, kidnapping, and illicit financial flows.
Also speaking, Douglas Grane, acting director of the United States Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, reaffirmed the U.S. government’s support for Nigeria’s efforts to tackle organized crime through stronger inter-agency and international cooperation.
Representatives of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit, and the National Cyber Security Centre also endorsed the initiative, describing it as a major step towards improving Nigeria’s fight against organized crime.
FATE Foundation, with funding from the Citi Foundation, has launched the Youth Entrepreneurship Incubation Programme to equip young people in Nigeria with financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills.
Delivered through free, safe, and accessible platforms, the programme supports the incubation and scaling of youth-led enterprises, enabling income generation and job creation.
In October 2025, FATE Foundation was selected as a recipient of Citi Foundation’s 2025 Global Innovation Challenge to Accelerate Youth Employability. Joining the cohort of 50 organisations globally, the Foundation will receive $500,000 over two years to advance its youth employability initiative.
“We are excited to be selected for Citi Foundation’s 2025 Global Innovation Challenge,” said Ayomide Akindolie-Igwe, Executive Director of FATE Foundation.
“This support enables us to equip young entrepreneurs in Nigeria with the financial literacy and skills needed to build and scale sustainable businesses.”
The programme addresses youth employability by tackling Africa’s growing jobs crisis. By 2030, the African continent will be home to 40% of the world’s youth, and with one in three under 35 already unemployed, this initiative will support Nigerian youth with a two-phase approach. It begins with financial literacy training before progressing to entrepreneurship development, incubation support, and access to tools needed to build viable, job-creating businesses.
“Through this innovative initiative, FATE Foundation is supporting low-income Nigerian youth to develop essential financial and entrepreneurial skills using accessible platforms.
“This support is not just helping individuals to succeed; it is building a solid foundation for sustainable enterprises that will drive job creation and contribute significantly to our nation’s economic vitality. This initiative is empowering and investing in the future of Nigeria, one youth at a time,” said Nneka Enwereji, MD/CEO Citibank Nigeria Limited.
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