Customs’ reforms pay off as PEBEC names service top trade facilitator

By Ezurike Ugochukwu

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has emerged as one of the country’s best-performing government agencies in trade facilitation after earning top marks in the 2025 Business Facilitation Act (BFA) Compliance Assessment conducted by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC).

The recognition no doubt underscores the Service’s ongoing reforms to improve efficiency, transparency and ease of doing business.

Announcing the assessment results last Friday, Director-General of PEBEC, Zahrah Audu, said the Nigeria Customs Service met all prescribed compliance standards while recording significant improvements in the speed, efficiency and responsiveness of its trade-related services. She noted that the performance places the Service among the highest-performing Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) evaluated, reflecting its commitment to delivering a more transparent, predictable and business-friendly trading environment.

He said, “The Nigeria Customs Service stood out by meeting all the required standards while recording notable improvements in the timeliness and efficiency of its response to trade-related matters,” Audu said, adding that the performance reflects a more transparent and business-friendly trading environment.

Audu credited the outcome to NCS’s sustained focus on operational efficiency and stakeholder experience, calling it consistent with the Federal Government’s Ease of Doing Business agenda.

She also disclosed that 98 percent of the 69 MDAs assessed under the Business Facilitation Act are now meeting expected service delivery standards, a figure she cited as evidence that reforms under the Act are improving government service delivery nationwide.

The recognition follows several reforms NCS has rolled out to modernise customs administration, including the B’Odogwu Unified Customs Management System, the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) Programme, and the Advance Ruling System. These initiatives have simplified import and export procedures, cut cargo clearance delays, and improved transparency in customs operations.