Uche Cecil Izuora
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has been named one of Nigeria’s top-performing government agencies in trade facilitation, according to the 2025 Business Facilitation Act (BFA) Compliance Assessment released by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) on Friday, 3 July 2026.
PEBEC Director-General Zahrah Audu said the NCS met all prescribed compliance standards and showed marked improvement in the speed and responsiveness of its trade-related services, placing it among the highest-performing Ministries, Departments and Agencies assessed. “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 attributed the outcome to the NCS’s sustained focus on operational efficiency and stakeholder experience, describing it as consistent with the Federal Government’s Ease of Doing Business agenda. She also said 98 percent of the 69 Ministries, Departments and Agencies assessed under the Business Facilitation Act are now meeting expected service delivery standards, citing the figure as evidence that reforms under the Act are improving government service delivery more broadly.
The recognition follows a series of reforms the NCS has introduced to modernise customs administration, including the B’Odogwu Unified Customs Management System, the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) Programme, and the Advance Ruling System. Those initiatives have been aimed at simplifying import and export procedures, reducing cargo clearance delays, and improving transparency in customs operations.