Customs
Editorial! The incursion of Chinese into Nigeria’s revenue vault.
The ubiquitous Chinese is gradually getting a foothold in the nation’s economy.
On May 30th, 2022, the controversial concession of the Nigeria Customs Service was consummated at the national headquarters of the service in Abuja.
Despite the outcry of stakeholders against the concession of the operations of the Nigeria Customs Service, the Federal Government signed a tripartite concession agreement with a Chinese company, Huawei Technologies, and their Nigerian counterparts, Trade Modernisation Project Limited with Africa Finance Corporation as the lead financiers.
The agreement was facilitated and midwifed by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission(ICRC).
The concessionaires, under the agreement, will drive the modernisation project for 20 years.
Last Monday’s consummation of the concession agreement was preceded by the approval granted by the Federal Government in September 2020 to concede the operations of the customs to concessionaires
The concession agreement, which spans a period of 20 years, will involve the modernisation of the processes and procedures of the Nigeria Customs Service, including its revenue generation which the concessionaires will take over through which they are to recoup their $3.2 billion investments.
Expectedly, the decision of the Federal government, which was clinically executed in the mould of a coup d’é tat, caught many industry stakeholders pants down.
It also generated animated discussion as the approval and eventual concession was granted in defiance to the popular wish of the operators.
Since 2019, when the industry got wind of this concession deal before the 2020 approval, there has been concerted opposition mounted by the aghast operators who felt the move was an attempt to give away our common patrimony to the foreign interests.
Then, Hon. Jerry Alagbaso, a former Customs chief and erstwhile member of the House of Representatives, rallied the National Assembly against the move.
But to the chagrin of everyone, the Federal government pulled a fast one on all the antagonists of the project.
We are less disconcerted over this concession deal which we believe was willing away the nation’s cash cow for 20 years to the foreign imperialists and their local collaborators.
We are at a loss on which powerful forces could have forced the hands of the Federal government to enter into this type of deal against the popular counsel of knowledgeable stakeholders.
Modernisation of Customs, they said.
What is there to modernise in the processes and procedures of the Nigeria Customs Service?
At the risk of being controverted, we dare say the Nigeria Customs has the most advanced form of automation process among the government agencies in the industry and one of the most automated in Africa.
The Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Wamkele Mene said as much when he visited Apapa Customs command last week.
Mr. Mene said Nigeria Customs has the most advanced and comprehensive automation programme among its peers in Africa.
The only challenge which the service has is human.
Some of the men and officers of the service are clearly aversed to full automation due to their selfish and pecuniary interests.
The automation process will eliminate human contacts which is the avenue for extortion and exploitation.
Since 2003, Nigeria Customs has gone through a series of automation processes that have made its processes and procedures seamless.
The Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) and its advanced form of ASYCUDA+, ASYCUDA++, the Nigeria Customs Integrated System (NCIS1 &11), and Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) are some of the automation platforms created by the customs management over the years to make customs operations seamless.
Even, in 2013, the Service developed a web-based application to provide information and guidelines for international trade business processors, export and transit trade which is called Nigeria trade Portal which is interactive.
To our mind, what the service needs is to upgrade these automated platforms, and integrate them with other players in the cargo documentation and clearance chains under the neglected single window project.
With adequate capital outlay, we believe Nigeria Customs can achieve full automation status without the involvement of foreign economic imperialists, aided and abetted by their avaricious local collaborators.
The anti- automation officers, who are averred to technology due to their selfish interests, could be reformed.
If they are adamant, they could be shipped out.
Cargo scanning could be emphasised while physical examination of cargoes could be sparingly used.
With these and all other automation platforms well integrated into the single-window under the supervision of a willing Customs administration, the Nigeria Customs will be a world-class agency.
We are however least surprised at the tenacity of these economic vultures in their quest to lay hands on the Nigeria Customs Service, which is gradually emerging as the cash cow of the nation.
Apart from oil, maritime is the second-highest revenue earner for the country and Nigeria Customs plays a key role in this regard.
With the yearly earnings in the excess of a conservative estimate of trillions of naira and the capacity to do more, as well as the dwindling earnings from oil due to the global crisis in the oil market, the maritime industry nay Nigeria Customs is understandably the preferred bride for these economic speculators.
Various attempts have been made in the past to dip their hands in the Customs’ till without success.
In 2011, the illegal concession of Customs key functions between the ministry of finance and a company called Single Window System and Technologies was shot down.
In 2017, another move for Customs modernisation was made by the technical committee on the Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme(CISS) which was pretentiously acting on behalf of the Federal government, with a technical partner called Adani system Nigeria limited.
The attempt, which sought to concession the Customs then for 25 years, was frustrated.
However, in a blatant disregard for popular opinion, the Federal government, after several failed attempts, eventually forced down the throat of the unwilling stakeholders, the concession of the agency.
However, the deeds have been done.
Any further lamentation by the stakeholders on the issue is crying over spilled milk.
Now that the government has had its way, we can only hope that its aspirations for the concession will be realised.
The Minister of Finance, Budget, and Planning, Zainab Ahmed, has said the government stands to realise $176 billion from the project without spending a Kobo.
The question is how much will the concessionaires realise within the 20- year period of the deal beyond the $3.2billion investments they are expected to sink into the project?
What would be the fate of the customs officers whose jobs will be affected by the take-over of the revenue functions of the agency?
Even though the Comptroller General of the service, Col. Hameed Ali, has allayed the fear of job loss, the redundancy of some categories of officers could not be totally ruled out.
It is instructive to note that one of the two core functions of the customs, which is revenue generation, has now been concessioned under the guise of this new modernisation project, leaving them with the anti-smuggling function.
We hope rather than render some crop of officers reductant which may lead to possible right-sizing of staff, they could be redeployed to beef up the anti-smuggling function of the service.
We are worried about the involvement of the Chinese in the project as represented by Huawei which serves as a technical partner.
The ubiquitous Chinese have gradually become a leech on Nigeria, sucking on the economy of the nation.
We can only hope that the modernisation project will leave the Nigeria Customs service better than it met it.
We equally hope the project will not be sabotaged by disgruntled insiders whose means of livelihood is being threatened.
The misadventure of the Professional Import Duty Administrators (PIDA) between 1996 and 2000 in the Nigeria Customs Service is still poignant in the memory of those who were in the know.
At that period, a firm of an accounting/consultant was engaged as professional Import Duty Administrators to complement the Nigeria Customs Service in the task of revenue generation.
They left the service worst off than they met it.
We appeal to the Federal government to ensure that this project transforms the service into a technologically-driven agency whose operations are seamless and paperless.
Customs
Customs PR officers dominate NCCSC graduation, clinch overall best honours
Gloria Odion, Maritime reporter
The Public Relations Unit of the Nigeria Customs Service has recorded a rare academic feat as two of its officers emerged the top graduating students at the Nigeria Customs Service Command and Staff College (NCCSC), Gwagwalada.
At the graduation ceremony for Senior Course 14 held on Friday,June 26th, 2026, Chief Superintendent of Customs (CSC) Ridwan Yusuf was named the Overall Best Graduating Student, capping an outstanding performance by winning three additional awards.
His colleague, CSC Nuruddeen Sa’idu, was named the Second Best Graduating Student, completing a remarkable sweep by officers from the Service’s Public Relations Unit.
The double honour highlights the intellectual depth, leadership capacity and professionalism within the Customs Public Relations Unit, demonstrating that its officers excel not only in strategic communication but also in administration, operational management and policy leadership.
Beyond the accolades, the achievement is expected to open another chapter in their careers, as both officers may be retained by the College as Directing Staff, in keeping with the institution’s tradition of engaging its highest-performing graduates to mentor future participants.
If confirmed, the appointments would recognise their exceptional academic and professional abilities while entrusting them with the responsibility of shaping the next generation of Customs leaders, although their absence would be keenly felt within the Public Relations Unit.
The Nigeria Customs Service Public Relations Unit congratulated both officers on their outstanding accomplishments and wished them continued success as they assume greater responsibilities in service to the nation.
Customs
Retirement gale sweeps through Customs as Olomu,Bomodi,Oladeji,Adeola,Adebakin, Niagwan among 1,516 officers set to exit service
Funso OLOJO, Editor
A massive retirement wave is set to rip through the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), with no fewer than 1,516 officers — including several top-ranking officers — pencilled down to leave the Service in 2026 and 2027 in what appears to be one of the largest personnel exits in the agency’s recent history.
The impending retirement storm, which cuts across virtually all cadres of the Service, will see officers from the rank of Deputy Comptroller-General down to Customs Assistant II bow out under statutory retirement provisions, leaving a major vacuum in the upper and middle ranks of the paramilitary agency.
Documents obtained by TheEyewitnessnews show that 825 officers are scheduled to retire in 2026, while another 691 are expected to leave in 2027, bringing the total number of exits within the two-year period to 1,516.
The retirement notices are contained in two restricted circulars issued by the Human Resources and Development Department of the Service and signed by the Comptroller, Establishment, A.A. Bazuaye, on behalf of the Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Human Resources and Development.
The first circular, No. HRD/2025/048 dated September 19, 2025, contains what the Service described as the final list of 825 officers billed to retire in 2026.
A breakdown of the 2026 list shows that the Deputy Superintendent of Customs cadre accounts for the highest number of exits with 285 officers, followed by the Superintendent of Customs cadre with 226 officers.
Other cadres affected in the 2026 retirement exercise are Assistant Superintendent of Customs I with 64 officers; Chief Customs Officer, 53; Deputy Customs Officer, 51; Assistant Customs Officer, 46; Chief Superintendent of Customs, 61; Inspector of Customs, eight; Assistant Superintendent of Customs II, 10; Customs Assistant I, one; Customs Assistant II, two; Assistant Comptroller-General, 13; and Deputy Comptroller-General, five.
A second circular, No. HRD/2026/020 dated May 26, 2026, forwarded a draft list of 691 officers due for statutory retirement in 2027.
The 2027 retirement schedule shows that the Superintendent of Customs cadre will record the highest number of exits with 200 officers, followed by the Deputy Superintendent of Customs cadre with 193 officers.
Others on the 2027 list are Deputy Customs Officer, 81; Chief Superintendent of Customs, 68; Assistant Customs Officer, 57; Assistant Superintendent of Customs I, 39; Chief Customs Officer, 38; Assistant Superintendent of Customs II, four; Customs Assistant I, four; Customs Assistant II, four; Inspector of Customs, two; and Assistant Comptroller-General, four.
Both circulars directed all affected officers to proceed on mandatory pre-retirement leave in line with Public Service Rule 100238 and Federal Government Circular No. 63216/S.1/X/T; CR 1/2001/5 of March 20, 2001.
The directive stated that all officers due for retirement must disengage from active service and proceed on three months’ pre-retirement leave ahead of their effective retirement dates, while also forwarding their three-month pre-retirement notices to the Comptroller-General of Customs.
Among the senior officers affected in the 2026 retirement exercise are Deputy Comptrollers-General Omale (SVC No. 41148), who retired on June 7, 2026; Nnadi (SVC No. 43193), whose retirement took effect on March 3, 2026; Chiroma (SVC No. 42988), who is due to retire on September 23, 2026; and Adeola MRS (SVC No. 42972) and Niagwan (SVC No. 41524), both scheduled to retire on December 23, 2026.
Among the Assistant Comptrollers-General on the 2026 retirement list are Egwuh (SVC No. 38991), who retired on March 14, 2026; Umoh (SVC No. 41351), who exited the Service on February 2, 2026; Mohammed (SVC Nos. 41394 and 41395), both due to retire on June 24, 2026; and Abe (SVC No. 41110), whose retirement date is August 21, 2026.
Others listed for retirement include Olomu (SVC No. 41145), Olaniyan (SVC No. 41197), Yusuf (SVC No. 41257), Oladeji (SVC No. 41308) and Gaji (SVC No. 41328), all scheduled to retire on September 24, 2026.
Also on the list are Adebakin (SVC No. 41670) and Bomodi (SVC No. 42758), both due for retirement on September 23, 2026, as well as Nyam (SVC No. 40428) and Abubakar (SVC No. 40139), whose retirement dates are October 1, 2026, among others.
In the 2027 circular, the Service opened a window for complaints and corrections, directing that any observed error, omission or legitimate complaint arising from the attached retirement list should be forwarded to the office of the Deputy Comptroller-General, Human Resources and Development, on or before July 31, 2026.
To ensure the notices get to all affected officers, Zonal Coordinators, Area Controllers and Unit Heads were directed to circulate the retirement lists across commands and formations.
But beyond the raw figures, the sweeping retirement exercise has exposed a deeper structural imbalance in the Service.
Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise, Abejide Leke Joseph, traced the development to a prolonged recruitment gap and years of promotion stagnation in the Nigeria Customs Service.
According to him, a 16-year period of non-recruitment created an unusual personnel bulge, as officers within the 41000, 42000 and 43000 service number brackets rose through the ranks almost at the same pace and now find themselves hitting retirement age or service limits within the same window.
The result, he explained, is a top-heavy structure in which a large number of officers now occupy similar seniority levels and are due to leave almost simultaneously.
Abejide said the retirement of more than 1,500 officers should not be misconstrued as part of any succession plot within the Customs hierarchy, insisting that the exercise is a routine and legally mandated process under Public Service Rule 100238.
The development is coming against the backdrop of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s approval of a final six-month tenure extension for the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, effectively keeping him in office until February 2027.
The Presidency announced on Friday that Adeniyi’s tenure, earlier scheduled to expire on August 1, 2026, had been extended by another six months to enable him complete key reforms in the Service.
In a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency said the extension would allow the Customs boss to consolidate the implementation of the National Single Window project and also ensure an orderly succession process in the Service.
More significantly, the statement made it clear that Adeniyi would work with the Nigeria Customs Service Board during the transition period to oversee critical personnel decisions, including the promotion of eligible officers to the rank of Comptroller and the compulsory retirement of officers who have attained 60 years of age or put in 35 years in service.
That presidential directive effectively places Adeniyi at the centre of one of the most consequential personnel transitions in the recent history of the Nigeria Customs Service — a transition that will shape not only the next generation of Customs leadership, but also the internal balance of power within the Service.
Customs
Excitement as President Tinubu Extends CGC Adeniyi’s Tenure by Six Months
Funso OLOJO, Editor
A wave of excitement swept through the maritime industry following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s approval of a six-month extension of the tenure of the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi.
In a statement issued on June 19th, 2026, and signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, President Tinubu said the extension was necessary to enable Adeniyi to consolidate ongoing reforms, particularly the implementation of the National Single Window project, while also ensuring an orderly succession process within the service.
According to the Presidency, Adeniyi’s current tenure was due to expire on August 1st, 2026.
The six-month extension will now keep him in office until February 2027.
During the transition period, Adeniyi is expected to work closely with the Nigeria Customs Service Board to oversee the promotion of qualified officers to the rank of Comptroller of Customs and facilitate the compulsory retirement of officers who have attained the statutory retirement age of 60 years or completed 35 years in service.
Adeniyi joined the Nigeria Customs Service after graduating from Obafemi Awolowo University in the late 1980s.
He steadily rose through the ranks, becoming a Deputy Comptroller in 2012, Comptroller in 2017, Assistant Comptroller-General in 2020, and Acting Deputy Comptroller-General in January 2023 before being appointed Comptroller-General by President Tinubu in June 2023.
Maritime stakeholders who welcomed the development described the extension as an opportunity for the Customs boss to complete the far-reaching reforms he initiated within the service.
One freight forwarder, who preferred anonymity, described the decision as a positive development.
“This is a welcome development because it will enable the Comptroller-General to complete the reforms he has started in the Nigeria Customs Service,” he said.
“His tenure has been a watershed in the history of the NCS.
“The service has witnessed unprecedented transformation in its operations, revenue generation, trade facilitation, and anti-smuggling activities.
“Granting him an extension is a well-thought-out administrative decision by President Tinubu to allow him to complete these achievements.”
Another stakeholder said the extension reflects the confidence of the Presidency in Adeniyi’s leadership.
“The tenure extension is a clear endorsement of Adeniyi’s transformative leadership of the Nigeria Customs Service and the progress recorded under his administration,” the stakeholder remarked.
Industry observers believe the extension will provide continuity for ongoing modernization initiatives and help sustain the momentum of reforms aimed at enhancing trade facilitation, revenue collection, and border security.
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