CGC Adeniyi Urges Senior Officers to Reinforce Internal Discipline at 2025 Customs Conference
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi, has charged senior officers to urgently address internal lapses that continue to impede the Service’s operational efficiency.
He delivered the message at the opening of the 2025 Comptroller-General of Customs’ Conference, which commenced on Thursday, 20 November 2025, in Abuja.
Held at the Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, the annual conference gathered senior management, policy strategists and operational leaders of the Service to review institutional performance and chart a renewed pathway for improved efficiency. This year’s conference was themed: “Building Future Partnerships: Lessons from the Customs-PACT Conference.”
Declaring the event open, CGC Adeniyi said the Service must replicate the discipline, coordination and strategic clarity that enabled its successful hosting of the recent Customs Partnership for African Cooperation in Trade (C-PACT) Summit.
The summit, which ended only a day earlier, brought together customs chiefs, private-sector partners and regional blocs from across the African continent.
According to him, the time has come for officers to “turn the mirror inward” and interrogate the structural, cultural and administrative deficiencies that undermine the organisation’s ability to deliver optimally.
“You can’t sustain external credibility without internal integrity. Turn the mirror inward and force honest discussions about what is working, what is failing and what must change,” he cautioned.
Adeniyi stressed that the lessons gleaned from the C-PACT Summit must not end with the event itself. He explained that the conference’s theme was intentionally chosen to ensure that the founding principles behind the summit’s success – including disciplined execution, unified messaging, interdepartmental coordination and strategic problem-solving – are integrated into the NCS’s long-term operational culture.
He recalled that in the build-up to the C-PACT Summit, the Service held weekly coordination meetings for 16 straight weeks, demonstrating an unprecedented level of synergy.
Messages were aligned with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) framework, conflicts were resolved promptly, and the entire team stayed united, guided by the principle that “failure was not an option with the world watching.”
The Comptroller-General revealed that the two-day conference will feature panel sessions, in-depth presentations and open conversations designed to encourage intellectual honesty. He emphasised that the forum is structured to ensure that “ideas matter more than rank,” reinforcing his call for a culture where officers at all levels feel empowered to contribute to institutional reform.
Adeniyi urged participants to approach the conference with candour and commitment, stating that the future of the NCS depends on its ability to remain internally disciplined while fostering stronger partnerships across borders.
The conference continues with sessions aimed at strengthening service delivery, modernising operations and deepening cooperation within and beyond the Customs Service.
