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 compliance management, revenue assurance and trade facilitation through modern audit practices.
The mission, which ran from June 1 to 12, 2026, brought together Customs officers and development experts to enhance the Service’s capacity in risk-based auditing, compliance monitoring and revenue protection.
Representing the Comptroller-General of Customs at the closing ceremony, the Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of Human Resource Development, Tijjani Abe, reaffirmed the Service’s commitment to strengthening Post Clearance Audit as a modern control mechanism for promoting voluntary compliance, facilitating legitimate trade and safeguarding government revenue.
Abe noted that effective customs administration requires intelligence-driven, risk-based and internationally compliant PCA systems capable of responding to evolving trade dynamics and compliance challenges.
“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.
He also reiterated the NCS’s commitment to sustained collaboration with the World Bank Group, the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and other development partners to drive customs modernisation and institutional reforms.
Earlier, the Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of Post Clearance Audit, Babatunde Olomu, expressed optimism about the future of PCA within the Service, describing the mission as a significant step toward operational transformation.
According to him, the technical deliberations, practical problem-solving sessions and assessments conducted during the programme have laid a solid foundation for institutional and operational reforms.
“The experiences exchanged and outputs developed during this mission will undoubtedly serve as catalysts for a new era of PCA modernisation and development in the NCS. These are not mere administrative instruments; they are the building blocks of a risk-intelligent and internationally compliant PCA system,” Olomu stated.
As part of the mission’s outcomes, participants presented a range of key deliverables, including draft Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), a Case File Management System, trader segmentation logic, audit checklists, registry management systems and quality assurance frameworks designed to improve audit efficiency and compliance management.
The team also unveiled an annual audit plan covering 30 audit cases across Customs Headquarters and three operational zones. The implementation framework for the plan has been structured within a 45-day timeline to ensure timely execution and measurable impact.
Speaking on behalf of the World Bank Group, Task Team Lead Moses Kajubi expressed satisfaction with the outcomes of the mission and emphasised the importance of institutional support and continuous capacity building in achieving sustainable results.
“For PCA to deliver value, we do not only need tools and processes; institutional support and continuous capacity building are equally important,” Kajubi said.
He reaffirmed the World Bank’s commitment to supporting capability development and implementation efforts within the Nigeria Customs Service, noting that sustained collaboration would be crucial to achieving the objectives of the reform programme.
The conclusion of the mission marks another milestone in the ongoing partnership between the Nigeria Customs Service and the World Bank Group to strengthen customs administration, enhance revenue mobilisation and align Nigeria’s trade facilitation processes with international best practices.
