Customs, NSDC Strengthen Partnership to Drive Nigeria’s Sugar Self-Sufficiency

The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), Mr. Kamar Bakrin, has highlighted the enormous potential of the Nigerian sugar industry to transform the economy and improve livelihoods in rural communities.

Bakrin stated that a fully developed sugar industry could help tackle Nigeria’s security challenges by addressing their root causes through job creation and rural development.
He made the remarks during a strategic meeting between the NSDC and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) at the Customs Headquarters in Abuja.
Speaking to the Comptroller-General of Customs, Mr. Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, and other senior officials, Bakrin explained that modern sugar estates are capable of generating their own electricity independently of the national grid while also supplying excess power to the country.
According to him, successful development of the sugar sector would help Nigeria redirect over one billion dollars currently spent annually on sugar imports into domestic jobs, security, and industrialisation.
“If Nigeria succeeds in developing a proper sugar sector, one of the things we would do is convert an annual outflow of over one billion dollars into jobs, security, and industrialisation.
“The sector can create 250,000 direct jobs and an additional 750,000 indirect jobs across its value chain, mainly in about 12 states. The beauty of it is that these are rural jobs, not city jobs,” he said.
Bakrin further linked sugar estate development to improved national security, noting that such projects provide employment opportunities for young people who might otherwise be vulnerable to crime and social unrest.
“When you have sugar projects, you don’t have unrest or any security challenge because you create so many jobs for the youths,” he stated.
He added that sugar estates are energy self-sufficient and can contribute significantly to national power supply.
“A sugar estate provides its own power; it does not rely on the national grid. As a matter of fact, it contributes to the national grid. A sugar estate consumes only about 50 percent of the energy it produces, while the rest can be injected into the national grid.
“And we are talking about 400 megawatts. That is enough to power at least a small modern city or community,” Bakrin said.
The NSDC boss explained that beyond sugar production, the sector offers major opportunities for rural industrialisation, infrastructure development, energy security, and economic diversification.
He described the Nigeria Customs Service as the most important enforcement institution for the success of the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan (NSMP), especially in the areas of quota administration, import regulation, fiscal incentives, and anti-smuggling operations.
Bakrin noted that the Federal Government is committed to reducing the country’s dependence on sugar imports by encouraging large-scale local investments through consistent policies and stronger institutional collaboration.
He stated that the successful implementation of the NSMP II would convert the over one billion dollars currently spent annually on sugar imports into domestic investments capable of creating jobs, developing rural communities, and strengthening Nigeria’s industrial sector.
Bakrin also disclosed that Nigeria has more than one million hectares of tested and suitable land for sugar cultivation, while only about 200,000 hectares are required for the country to achieve sugar self-sufficiency.
According to him, investors willing to commit billions of dollars to sugar projects need assurance that government policies and incentives will be implemented transparently and consistently.
In his response, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Mr. Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, affirmed the Service’s support for the sugar sector transformation agenda, describing the industry’s projected energy contribution as a major economic opportunity for Nigeria.
“The potential for job creation, security, rural development, and the added value in terms of energy that we can use speaks directly to Nigeria’s economic priorities,” Adeniyi said.
He assured the NSDC of the Customs Service’s readiness to strengthen intelligence sharing, data transparency, quota enforcement, and operational collaboration to ensure effective implementation of the NSMP II.
Both institutions reaffirmed their commitment to collaborating in five critical areas aimed at resolving longstanding challenges affecting the sustainability of sugar estates and attracting investments into the sector.
The priority areas include market stability, information sharing on imports and importers, implementation of quota allocations, enforcement of sugar incentives, and combating smuggling.
Bakrin explained that these measures would ensure the continued implementation of approved fiscal incentives for verified operators, provision of real-time data on sugar imports and importers for informed decision-making, and enforcement of approved import quotas.
The two agencies also agreed to work together to ensure that duty waivers and differentiated tariffs are granted only to eligible operators while fast-tracking the clearance of approved machinery and equipment.
They further resolved to establish a joint intelligence and enforcement team to combat illegal sugar imports undermining the sector.
The Comptroller-General of Customs also called for periodic review meetings between both institutions to monitor implementation progress, address operational issues, and jointly brief President Bola Tinubu on developments in the sector.