Customs

100 days in office: Appreciative stakeholders doff hats for Wale Adeniyi as CGC

—he is the best thing to have happened to Customs –Abdulazeez— he could emerge as the best CGC ever– Akpunonu—-he is a communication strategist –Aniebonam— he is a thoroughbred professional — Tanko .

The Eyewitness reporter

It was a flurry of tributes, commendations and applause by the critical maritime stakeholders for Adewale Adeniyi, the acting Comptroller General of Customs.

Adeniyi, who was appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on June 19th, 2023 to superintendent over the Nigeria Customs Service, marked his first 100 days in office last week.

It was a momentous 100 days of innovative leadership, reformative policies, extensive collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, inspiring leadership and rejuvenating action that drew applause from the critical stakeholders.

The visibly elated industry operators, especially the confraternity of freight forwarders, were unsparing in their conviction that Adeniyi has brought fresh air to the Nigeria Customs Service.

They were unanimous in their declaration that the new Sheriff in the customs has so far done well.

Babatunde Mukaila Abdulazeez, the former National Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents ( ANLCA) who was also the immediate past Sole Administrator of the troubled association, couldn’t hide his feelings over the inspiring leadership of Adeniyi.

“It is a personal roller coaster feeling for me. We have never had it so good.”, he declared when he was asked to assess the performance of Adeniyi in his first 100 days in the saddle as the CGC.

Ada Ozomena Akpunonu, another frontline freight forwarder and a top-notch member of the ANLCA, was no less impressed by the performance of Adeniyi as the CGC.

“He could eventually emerge as the best CGC customs ever had” she declared.

Ibrahim Tanko, the Vice President, the Western Zone of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) who is also the National Coordinator of the 100 compliance team of the association, also acknowledged the uncommon professional ingenuity of the new CGC.

“He has done well so far”, he stated tersely.

Dr Boniface Aniebonam, the legendary founder of NAGAFF was no less enamoured by the sparkling leadership qualities of Adeniyi as displayed within his first 100 days in office.

“He is a communication strategist “, he declared as a matter of fact.

It was not however praises galore as some of these stakeholders have some reservations and offered advice on how the new CGC could scale up his game to improve on his laudable achievements.

Babatunde Mukaila Abdulazeez

“It is a personal roller coaster feeling for me. We had never had it so good.

Wale has shown that he has the capacity and what it takes to take Nigeria Customs to the next level.

He has shown that Nigeria can be at par with the rest of the advanced world in the deployment of trade tools.

In the first 100 days, he has shown uncommon courage, commitment and uncanny knowledge of customs operations and processes that are meant to facilitate trade.

For instance, he introduced what is called the Advance Ruling which holds Customs officers accountable for whatever their position is on pre-importation requests.

I can tell you that it takes courage to do that as no officer would want to be held responsible for his action.

But Adeniyi has done that.

He was the first CG to bell the cat on this novel idea. This shows his courage and passion to transform customs.

Also, he introduced another novel idea by partnering with the Japanese government to establish a laboratory for Nigeria Customs.

The issue of argument on chemical imports will be a thing of the past. This will not only help the customs but the NAFDAC as well.

Adeniyi, in his first 100 days in office, has shown us that he knows what needs to be done and that he is a core professional customs officer.

We can only pray for him to succeed. He has put on the table accountability and transparency.

Ada Ozomena Akpunonu

Wale is a professional customs officer and we all know his rich antecedents.

Unfortunately, he came at a time when Nigeria’s economy is in comatose. This will make his task a bit difficult.

For instance, the exchange rate is too high and the Customs duties are equally high which have both combined to make goods clearance at the port very exorbitant.

I hear that it may soon take an average of N10 million to clear one forty-foot container. Where will people get this kind of money from?

The government should help Adeniyi to succeed by putting policies and programmes that are business-friendly and help to promote trade.

Wale is a team player. He carries everyone along.

Through the deployment of his Area Controllers, he has shown the depth of his managerial acumen because his men at the Area Commands are square pegs in square holes.

By the time he is confirmed as the CGC, he will perform wonders. The atmosphere in the customs now is that of conviviality and sanity.

If not for the instability of the naira and the bastardized economy, Wale could emerge as the best CGC ever.

Ibrahim Tanko

Wale is doing well as the CGC.

However, an area of concern to me is where he transferred revenue officers from their area of core competence to enforcement and brought enforcement officers to come and man revenue units.

This may affect the revenue generation of the customs because the enforcement officers put in the revenue units do not understand anything about tariffs.

I think he should have given them training before putting them there. Wale will do better if he puts officers in positions in which they are best suited.

However, he has done well in terms of reducing the bottleneck in clearance procedures by reducing the number of units.

For instance, he has disbanded the notorious CG strike force as well as border drills.

He is also working hard to restore the core values of the Federal Operations Units ( FOUs) of the service by enhancing their professionalism.

He is also doing well in the area of checking the excesses of officers.

He is also doing well in attending to pending cases such as seizures, detentions, dismissals and suspensions.

However, I would like him to define and delineate the functions of Customs Police, FOU and Provosts.

Their functions and duties should be well-defined and clearly stated to avoid overlap and clash.

Dr. Boniface Aniebonam

Wale is a master communication strategist. But unfortunately, he is not communicating well.

I am a Customs officer and a founder of NAGAFF. He needs to feel the pulse of port operations and operators from critical stakeholders in the industry.

He has to address them to sell his mandate to the people.

He should visit ANLCA and NAGAFF, the two frontline associations of freight forwarders where he can discuss revenue, suppression of smuggling activities, trade facilitation and other customs operations. However, I commend him on the disbandment of the CG strike force.

The interventionist squad had abused the customs process under previous customs administrations.

We appreciate him for that. He should also take a very strong stance against avoidable trade alerts from different customs units.

This does not facilitate trade.

He should coordinate and hamonise the alert system and I know as a listening officer, he shall look into this disturbing issue.

He should also take a very strong exception to the wastage of human resources at the zonal offices as a core professional customs officer.

The zonal offices of customs must be functional and proactive while the headquarters should be for policy formulation.

There are lot to still be done.

However, his first 100 days in office are well and good.

He should, however, contact critical stakeholders and partner them by using established platforms such as ANLCA and NAGAFF to reach out to the trading public.

His 100 days in office have been avoidably aggressive in revenue target and collection. But the modern-day customs practice is not about revenue but trade facilitation.

If you raise the compliance level of the trading public, this will lead to high revenue. He should de-emphasize revenue and emphasize trade facilitation which leads to high revenue.

You don’t destroy trade because of your pursuit of revenue.

However, the stakeholders, despite their varying views, were unanimous in their assessment of Wale Adeniyi’s first 100 days in office as the CGC.

They all chorused their agreement that the new sheriff in town has raised the bar in customs administration and put the service on the path of greatness, professionalism, public acceptance and global recognition never witnessed in the over 100 years of the existence of the revenue agency in the country.

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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.