As the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) commences by January, there are concerns that the proposed engagement of third-party vendors to manage collection platforms could create opaque intermediaries, enable off-ledger transactions, promote rent-seeking and weaken parliamentary oversight of maritime revenues.
According to a policy brief issued by the Sea Empowerment Research Centre (SEREC) in its weekly bulletin, the NRS, under the new framework, is expected to consolidate revenue streams currently administered by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the Nigerian Shippers’ Council and the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN).
The policy brief signed by SEREC’s Head of Research, Dr Eugene Nweke, warned that while the reform promises a more efficient maritime sector, including fewer duplicate charges, clearer audit trails and improved trade facilitation, widespread public distrust rooted in persistent corruption, poor infrastructure delivery and rising insecurity could undermine the reform.
The research body stressed that the proprietary systems could pose short-term disruption to trade flows, increase cargo clearance times, cause liquidity shocks for port-related small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and transporters, raising costs and reducing port competitiveness.
SEREC cautioned that a poorly managed transition could increase popular opposition or litigation that delays rollout, open new windows for money laundering through ransom cash conversion networks if anti-money laundering and security measures are weak
The group also highlighted erosion of public legitimacy, leading to social unrest or resistance in critical supply chains.
SEREC noted that the concurrent tightening of cash-withdrawal and transaction limits by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has accelerated digitisation and reduced cash flows, which may impose liquidity and operational shocks on truckers, small freight forwarders, informal port service providers, market traders and many SMEs who still depend heavily on cash.
To prevent these outcomes, SEREC called for strict legal and institutional safeguards, including statutory transparency clauses requiring full publication of any collection or consulting contracts, competitive procurement processes backed by parliamentary oversight, and hard limits on contract tenure with mandatory public performance reviews.
SEREC further insisted that private consultants must never be allowed custody of public funds and that all maritime levies should be remitted in real time into government-controlled escrow accounts and ring-fenced for clearly defined port and maritime projects.
The research group also proposed real-time public dashboards for maritime and port revenue collections, open and machine-readable receipts to enable independent reconciliation, quarterly forensic audits published in full, and the creation of a multi-stakeholder oversight board with maritime sector representation and veto powers over major contracting decisions.
SEREC further recommended emergency, tightly audited cash access mechanisms for genuine security situations and targeted transition support for port SMEs, truckers and informal logistics operators to cushion the shift towards full digitisation.
“Centralising revenue collection through the NRS could transform Nigeria’s maritime competitiveness and fiscal integrity — but only if implementation is anchored in legally enforceable transparency, strict procurement and custody rules, credible oversight, AML/security integration, and targeted social protections. The public fear that private consultants might be used as opaque intermediaries is legitimate and must be addressed proactively through the contractual, institutional and technical safeguards highlighted,” SEREC stated.
