By Peace Udugba
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), in collaboration 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 enhancing compliance management, revenue assurance and trade facilitation through modern audit practices.
The programme, which ran from June 1 to 12, 2026, focused on strengthening the Service’s audit capabilities and aligning its operations with international best practices.
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.
According to him, effective customs administration requires intelligence-driven, risk-based and internationally compliant PCA systems.
“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.
Abe also reiterated the Service’s commitment to sustaining collaboration with the World Bank Group, the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and other development partners.
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, noting that the technical deliberations, practical problem-solving sessions and assessments carried out during the mission had 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 said.
Participants at the mission presented several key deliverables developed during the exercise, including draft Standard Operating Procedures, a Case File Management System, trader segmentation logic, audit checklists, registry management systems and quality assurance frameworks.
An annual audit plan covering 30 audit cases across the Customs Headquarters and three operational zones was also unveiled, with implementation scheduled within a 45-day timeline.
Speaking on behalf of the World Bank Group, Task Team Lead Moses Kajubi expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the mission and stressed the importance of institutional support and continuous capacity building.
“For PCA to deliver value, we do not only need tools and processes; institutional support and continuous capacity building are equally important,” Kajubi said, while reaffirming the World Bank’s commitment to supporting capability development and implementation efforts within the Nigeria Customs Service.
