ABUJA —In Nigeria’s legislative history, few committee chairmen have left as profound an imprint on a government institution as Hon. Leke Abejide, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise, whose relentless push for reforms culminated in one of the most significant overhauls of the Nigeria Customs Service since independence.
To many stakeholders within the Customs community and the National Assembly, Abejide has become the live-wire of the Service’s legislative transformation—the driving force whose persistence helped breathe new life into an institution long constrained by obsolete laws inherited from the colonial era.
His defining achievement came with the successful passage of the Nigeria Customs Service Bill, which received the assent of former President Muhammadu Buhari on April 20, 2023, becoming the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023.
The presidential assent marked the end of the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA), a law that had governed Customs administration for more than six decades and had increasingly become inadequate for the realities of a digital economy, expanding international trade and modern border security.
For years, successive administrations and several National Assemblies had attempted to replace the outdated legislation without success. Under Abejide’s leadership of the House Committee on Customs and Excise, however, the long-awaited reform crossed the legislative finish line, ushering in what many observers regard as the most comprehensive restructuring of Customs administration in Nigeria’s history.
The new law fundamentally changed the operational and governance architecture of the Nigeria Customs Service.
It established a statutory Governing Board to strengthen institutional oversight and accountability while clearly separating governance from day-to-day management. It also gave legal backing to electronic Customs operations, risk-based cargo examination, post-clearance audits, digital documentation, modern customs valuation, rules of origin, electronic data management and the Authorised Economic Operator programme aimed at facilitating legitimate trade.
The Act equally strengthened anti-smuggling operations through enhanced intelligence gathering and enforcement powers, modernised excise administration, provided stronger protection for intellectual property rights at Nigeria’s borders and aligned Nigeria’s Customs laws with global best practices and the World Customs Organization’s standards.
One of the landmark institutional reforms championed through the legislation was the provision that the Comptroller-General of Customs should be appointed from among serving senior career officers of the Service. The measure has been widely viewed as promoting professionalism, institutional continuity and career progression within the Nigeria Customs Service.
The law also introduced a more sustainable funding framework designed to improve Customs operations, strengthen infrastructure, support technology-driven border management and enhance revenue generation for the Federal Government.
Beyond the historic legislation, Abejide has continued to use the oversight powers of the House Committee on Customs and Excise to monitor implementation of the Act, promote trade facilitation, strengthen revenue accountability and support the ongoing digital transformation of Customs operations.
Supporters also credit the lawmaker with championing improved welfare for Customs personnel. Among the initiatives associated with his leadership is advocacy that contributed to an upward review of the salary structure for junior Customs officers, reportedly increasing their earnings by more than 50 percent. The improvement is widely seen as a morale booster capable of enhancing professionalism, reducing welfare concerns and improving operational effectiveness across the Service.
The Kogi-born lawmaker has also continued to canvass further institutional reforms, including a proposal to amend the Nigeria Customs Service Act to provide a fixed statutory tenure for the Comptroller-General of Customs, a move he argues would strengthen policy continuity, institutional stability and long-term planning.
Political observers say Abejide’s greatest contribution lies not merely in sponsoring legislative amendments but in helping to reposition the Nigeria Customs Service as a modern institution capable of supporting economic growth, facilitating international trade, protecting Nigeria’s borders and improving government revenue.
As implementation of the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023 gathers momentum, many stakeholders believe the reforms have laid the legal and institutional foundation for a more transparent, technology-driven and globally competitive Customs administration.
For admirers of the House Committee Chairman, the verdict is already taking shape: while institutions are built by many hands, history may well remember Hon. Leke Abejide as one of the principal architects of the legislative renaissance that ushered the Nigeria Customs Service into a new era.
