The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), in partnership with the World Bank Group under the Accelerated Revenue Mobilisation Reform (ARMOR) Programme, has concluded a two-week Technical Assistance Mission on Post Clearance Audit (PCA) aimed at strengthening revenue assurance, compliance management, and trade facilitation.
The exercise, which ran from June 1 to 12, 2026, brought together experts and officials to review and improve PCA operations as part of broader efforts to modernise customs administration through risk-based and intelligence-driven systems.
At the closing ceremony, the Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of Human Resource Development, Tijjani Abe, said the Service remains committed to strengthening PCA as a critical tool for enhancing voluntary compliance and safeguarding national revenue.
Abe stressed that modern customs operations must be anchored on intelligence-led and risk-based systems aligned with global standards, noting that the real success of the programme would depend on its implementation outcomes.
“The true measure of success will not be the completion of this programme, but the extent to which the knowledge acquired translates into improved performance, stronger compliance outcomes and enhanced service delivery,” he said, adding that the Service would continue to work closely with the World Bank Group, the World Customs Organisation (WCO), and other development partners.
The Assistant Comptroller-General in charge of Post Clearance Audit, Babatunde Olomu, described the mission as a major step toward deepening institutional reforms within the Service.
He said technical sessions, assessments, and problem-solving engagements held during the programme had produced key frameworks that would support a more structured and efficient PCA system. “The experiences exchanged and outputs developed during this mission will serve as catalysts for a new era of PCA modernisation in the NCS,” Olomu stated.
According to him, the deliverables include draft Standard Operating Procedures, a Case File Management System, trader segmentation models, audit checklists, registry management systems, and quality assurance frameworks.
He added that an annual audit plan covering 30 cases across Customs Headquarters and three operational zones had been developed, with implementation scheduled within 45 days.
Speaking on behalf of the World Bank Group, Task Team Lead Moses Kajubi said sustained improvement in PCA operations would require strong institutional backing alongside technical tools.
He reaffirmed the Bank’s commitment to supporting capacity development and reform implementation within the Nigeria Customs Service.
“For PCA to deliver value, we do not only need tools and processes; institutional support and continuous capacity building are equally important,” Kajubi said.
