The Senate Public Accounts Committee (SPAC) has cleared the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) of a disputed N62.2 billion under-remittance allegation, while ordering a comprehensive reconciliation of 76 other audit queries raised by the Auditor-General of the Federation.
The decision followed an extensive investigative hearing into financial infractions contained in the 2019 and 2020 audit reports, during which Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, defended the agency’s revenue records before lawmakers.
At the centre of the dispute was a claim that Customs collected N691.242 billion in 2017 but remitted only N629.23 billion to the Federation Account, leaving an alleged shortfall of N62.2 billion.
However, the Customs leadership dismissed the allegation, explaining that the figure was the result of misclassification of statutory levies collected on behalf of other government agencies, rather than funds due for remittance into the Federation Account.
The Comptroller-General told the committee that while some levies collected by Customs are payable into the Federation Account, others—such as charges tied to local production in sectors including wheat, textiles, and wines—are not remittable in the manner reflected in the audit query.
He maintained that the issue stemmed from differences in revenue classification and reporting templates, rather than any actual diversion or under-remittance of public funds.
Lawmakers on the committee observed that the matter should ordinarily have been resolved at the technical reconciliation stage between the audit authorities and the agency, rather than escalating into a full legislative probe.
Senator Babangida Hussaini (Jigawa North West) questioned why such discrepancies were not resolved earlier, noting that experienced civil servants ought to have addressed the issues before reaching the Senate.
Responding, the Customs chief attributed the delay in resolution to strained relations between the agency and the Senate during the period under review, which he said affected early engagement and reconciliation efforts.
After extensive deliberations, the committee accepted Customs’ explanation on the N62.2 billion query, but stressed the need for improved coordination between revenue agencies and audit institutions to prevent recurring classification disputes.
As a result, SPAC resolved to set up a sub-committee to work with the Office of the Auditor-General and the Nigeria Customs Service to reconcile the remaining 76 audit queries.
The Senate further urged that future audit disagreements be handled through structured technical engagement rather than prolonged legislative confrontation, in order to strengthen transparency, accountability, and efficiency in public financial management.
