Oyedele Tasks Customs To Set World-Class Benchmarks, Improve Port Efficiency

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, has charged the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to raise its performance standards by improving port efficiency, transparency and revenue collection.

Oyedele gave the charge after visiting the Customs headquarters in Abuja, where he chaired the Service’s board meeting for the first time since his appointment as Minister of Finance.

In a statement shared on his X handle on Saturday, September 5, the minister said he toured the facility before the meeting to assess recent investments in technology and intelligence.

He commended the leadership and personnel of the NCS for what he described as notable progress in revenue generation and trade facilitation.

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Oyedele, however, warned the Service against becoming complacent over its achievements, urging it to set measurable targets that would improve Nigeria’s competitiveness.

“But progress should not lead to complacency. Results are precisely what should propel us to do more,” he said.

The minister tasked the Customs Service with establishing world-class benchmarks backed by measurable outcomes, particularly in areas critical to trade and revenue generation.

“I therefore charged the Service to set world-class benchmarks, backed by measurable outcomes that strengthen our regional and global competitiveness. Nigeria must lead through performance, not rhetoric,” Oyedele said.

He identified improved port efficiency, greater transparency, faster cargo clearance and stronger integrity in revenue collection as key areas requiring attention.

Among the priorities he listed were “Port efficiency that eliminates bottlenecks”, “End-to-end transparency across all operations” and “Accelerated cargo clearance timelines”.

He also called for “Uncompromising integrity in revenue collection” across Customs operations.

Oyedele said the Federal Government would continue to provide the NCS with the technology, tools and policy support required to improve its operations.

He urged Customs officers to view their responsibilities beyond border administration, describing them as key players in Nigeria’s economic development.

“I urged every officer to see themselves not just as border administrators, but as frontline drivers of Nigeria’s economic growth and global competitiveness,” he said.