Economists and financial analysts are alarmed following the revelation that Nigeria lost N34 trillion, which represents 61 percent of the 2025 budget, to import waivers in the same year.

The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adeniyi, said duty exemption certificate approvals granted by the federal government on goods and equipment amounted to N34 trillion.

Adeniyi made the disclosure known in an investigative hearing on the Senate Committee on Finance on Monday.

According to him, the country’s import duty exemption certificate issuance has depleted the nation’s revenue.

He noted the federal government’s fiscal measures have both positive and negative impacts on the service’s revenue generation capacity.

He said, “IDEC approvals reached about N34 trillion in 2025, 60 percent of which was rightly done by the government related to military hardware procurements, which attracted duty exemptions because of Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.

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“Other government-backed waivers included the importation of compressed natural gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, and food import intervention programs,” he stated.

DAILY POST reports that customs generated N7.28 trillion as revenue for 2025.

This means that Nigeria lost more than four times its generated revenue in the year under review to import waivers amounting to N34 trillion.

Similarly, the IDEC approvals for 2025 accounted for 61.8 percent of the country’s N54.99 trillion budget in the 2025 fiscal year.

Reacting to the development in an exclusive interview with DAILY POST, Professor of Accounting and Finance at Lead City University Godwin Oyedokun and CEO of SD & D Capital Management Gbolade Idakolo said the N34 trillion revenue lost to import waivers is alarming and should be thoroughly investigated.

Both economic experts agreed that the N34 trillion import duty waiver amounts to revenue leakages and signals corruption.

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Oyedokun called for a thorough investigation and greater public scrutiny following the Nigeria Customs Service’s disclosure that the country granted an estimated N34 trillion in import duty waivers in 2025.

He described import duty waivers as legitimate economic policy instruments that can stimulate investment, industrialization, and strategic sectors but stressed that they must be administered transparently and deliver measurable economic value.

According to him, if the government indeed forgone N34 trillion in customs revenue, it has a responsibility to demonstrate that the incentives translated into tangible outcomes such as increased local production, job creation, export growth, and broader economic development.

“If such a significant amount of revenue was forfeited, the government must demonstrate that the incentives translated into increased production, job creation, export growth, and broader economic development.

“Otherwise, the country may have sacrificed critical public revenue without achieving the intended objectives,” he told DAILY POST.

Oyedokun warned that the implications of such a large revenue loss are far-reaching, noting that lower customs revenue could worsen Nigeria’s fiscal challenges by widening the budget deficit, increasing borrowing, and reducing available funding for key sectors, including education, healthcare, infrastructure, and security.

He also cautioned that poorly managed import waivers could distort competition by giving certain businesses unfair advantages over others.

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Oyedokun urged the federal government to strengthen the governance of import duty waivers through improved transparency, periodic cost-benefit assessments, stricter legislative oversight, and independent audits.

He maintained that fiscal incentives should only be granted where there is clear evidence that the long-term economic gains outweigh the immediate revenue forgone.

“Ultimately, every tax or duty concession should represent an investment in national development rather than a source of revenue leakage,” Oyedokun added.

N34 trillion import waiver loss alarming, may indicate corruption – Idakolo

On his part, he joined Oyedokun to call for a comprehensive investigation on the revenue loss from Nigeria’s import duty waivers.

He warned that the development could point to corruption and significant leakages in the country’s revenue collection system.

He said although waivers are legitimate trade policy instruments designed to encourage the importation of goods considered essential for economic growth, they must not become channels for revenue abuse.

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According to him, import waivers are intended to facilitate favorable trade conditions for importers and boost the inflow of products necessary to improve the economy.

However, he stressed that if the government is losing legitimate revenue through the policy, there is an urgent need to determine the source of the leakages.

“If the government starts losing legitimate revenue from these waivers, adequate investigations should be carried out to determine the cause of these leakages, which could be due to corruption,” he told DAILY POST.

Idakolo described the reported N34 trillion loss as alarming, noting that such an amount could have significantly supported the implementation of the 2025 budget without the need for additional borrowing.

“N34 trillion lost could have aided budget implementation in 2025 without additional borrowings, so this revenue loss is alarming and should be investigated,” he stated.

The economist urged the federal government to review its import waiver policy to ensure it aligns with the country’s economic growth objectives and prevents further revenue leakages.

He also called for agencies found culpable in any abuse of the waiver regime to be investigated and sanctioned.

“The federal government should review waivers in line with its economic growth plan to ensure potential leakages are blocked accordingly, while agencies found to be culpable for this monumental loss should be investigated and reprimanded,” Idakolo added.