The Senate has alerted the Nigeria Customs Service that the N5.079tn 2024 revenue target of the agency will be reviewed upwards from the second half of the year to save the country from further borrowings.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Customs, Isah Jibrin, stated this Monday at a crucial meeting with the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service NCS, Adewale Adeniyi, and top management officials of the revenue agency.

He said, “First of all, Nigeria is saddled with a lot of debt obligations and we need to wriggle ourselves out of that trap and one of the ways to do that is internally generated revenue.

Customs is one of the major providers of internally generated revenue and as it is today, we expect them to play one of the major roles in this drive to reduce our debt burden.

“We need to pay off what we owe now and minimise additional loans we are going to take. Customs is in a very good position. If they are able to block all perceived leakages, they should be able to generate a significant amount of income that will enable Nigeria to get out of debt, at least partially.”

On the concessions given to some sectors of the economy, for example, agriculture, the Kogi East senator said it was for operators in the agricultural services and solid minerals, whose services have a direct impact on the economy.