{"id":117380,"date":"2025-04-14T23:23:43","date_gmt":"2025-04-14T22:23:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=117380"},"modified":"2025-04-14T23:23:43","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T22:23:43","slug":"us-labels-ncs-corrupt-institution-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/us-labels-ncs-corrupt-institution-report\/","title":{"rendered":"US Labels NCS Corrupt Institution \u2013 Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"m#msg-f:1829390656561972601\" class=\"mail-message expanded\">\n<div class=\"mail-message-header spacer\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">Daniel Adaji<\/div>\n<div id=\"m#msg-f:1829390656561972601-content\" class=\"mail-message-content collapsible zoom-normal mail-show-images \" style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<div class=\"clear\">\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The United States has declared the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) a corrupt institution, citing entrenched inefficiencies and malpractice that pose major barriers to trade and investment.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>This declaration was made in the 2025 National Trade Estimate (NTE) Report on Foreign Trade Barriers, obtained by Pointblank News on Monday.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The report underscores systemic corruption within Nigeria\u2019s customs operations, stating bluntly that \u201cthe Nigeria Customs Service\u2019s practices continue to present major obstacles to trade.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>It adds that \u201cimporters report inconsistent application of customs regulations; lengthy clearance procedures, often due to outdated manual processing systems; and corruption.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The scathing assessment reveals that corruption at Nigeria\u2019s ports leads to significant economic losses, particularly for perishable goods.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cThese factors sometimes contribute to product deterioration and result in significant losses for importers of perishable goods,\u201d the report noted.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Despite efforts to automate processes through a $3.1bn\u00a0 customs modernization project approved in 2020, the report highlights that \u201cmany basic customs procedures are still paper-based and require an unreasonably long time to complete.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The modernization initiative, meant to digitize operations within 36 months via a public-private partnership, has suffered delays and is now entangled in litigation.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>In addition to corruption, the report points to inconsistent regulatory practices, with different agencies frequently clashing over interpretations of trade rules, causing \u201cdelays\u201d and slowing the \u201cmovement of goods through Nigerian ports.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The United States also criticized Nigeria\u2019s continued use of import bans and supplementary taxes that raise the effective cost of importing goods, noting that the customs agency bans 25 product categories and levies charges exceeding the ECOWAS limit of 70 per cent on 17 tariff lines.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Furthermore, Nigeria\u2019s lack of transparency in government procurement was also flagged.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The report states that \u201cU.S. companies have expressed concerns about corruption and a lack of transparency in procurement processes in Nigeria,\u201d adding that \u201cforeign government-subsidized financing arrangements appear in some cases to be a crucial factor in the award of government procurements.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>On regulatory transparency, the NTE report laments that \u201cNigeria has not consistently notified draft technical regulations to the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade,\u201d and that enforcement of intellectual property rights remains inadequate due to corruption and lack of resources.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The 2025 report also highlights broader systemic challenges: \u201cCorruption and lack of transparency in tender processes are of great concern to U.S. companies. U.S. firms experience difficulties in day-to-day operations as a result of inappropriate demands from officials for \u2018facilitative\u2019 payments.\u201d<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>While acknowledging recent policy reforms, including the Central Bank of Nigeria\u2019s move to unify exchange rates and lift some import restrictions, the report remains sceptical of their impact in an environment still hampered by entrenched bureaucratic inefficiencies and opaque practices.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>As part of its recommendations, the U.S. urges Nigeria to make comprehensive reforms to its customs operations and procurement systems, encouraging transparent processes, accountability, and full digital integration.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div id=\"m_-4019026316954819519ymail_android_signature\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mail-message-footer spacer collapsible\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Daniel Adaji The United States has declared the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) a corrupt institution, citing entrenched inefficiencies and malpractice that pose major barriers to trade and investment. This declaration&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":90135,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>US Labels NCS Corrupt Institution \u2013 Report - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/us-labels-ncs-corrupt-institution-report\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"US Labels NCS Corrupt Institution \u2013 Report - Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Daniel Adaji The United States has declared the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) a corrupt institution, citing entrenched inefficiencies and malpractice that pose major barriers to trade and investment. 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