Nigeria Customs Concludes Strategic Leadership Training to Deepen Trade Reforms, Ease Doing Business
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has concluded a high-level, two-day management workshop designed to accelerate trade facilitation reforms and further streamline the ease of doing business across the country, as part of its ongoing modernisation and institutional transformation drive.
The workshop, organised in partnership with Reverso Business Services Limited, was held from 22 to 23 January 2026 and brought together senior officers of the Service to strengthen leadership capacity, deepen understanding of global trade dynamics and reinforce Customs’ role as a catalyst for economic growth.
The engagement reaffirmed the NCS’s commitment to digital modernisation, process automation and the elimination of bureaucratic bottlenecks along Nigeria’s trade corridors.
The training forms part of the broader reform agenda of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, which is focused on aligning Customs operations with global best practices, improving operational efficiency and positioning the Service as a responsive and accountable institution capable of supporting national development objectives.
The final day of the workshop concentrated on emerging trends in global trade, digital transformation and the evolving responsibilities of modern Customs administrations.
Participants engaged in extensive discussions on adaptive strategies, operational excellence and effective stakeholder collaboration, underscoring the need for the Service to remain agile in a rapidly changing international trade environment.
Addressing participants, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, highlighted the dynamic nature of global trade and stressed that the NCS is proactively implementing reforms to meet both current and future challenges.
“Our environment will continue to be very dynamic. What will not change, however, is Nigeria’s expectation that Customs will contribute meaningfully to economic prosperity, public health and national security. When these elements come together, we are better positioned to facilitate trade,” Adeniyi said.
He further charged officers to uphold high professional and ethical standards, noting that the ongoing transformation of the Service is a deliberate effort to build a reference Customs administration recognised for accountability, responsiveness and strong performance.
“These are standards we voluntarily hold ourselves to. We want to be that reference organisation, responsive to our commitments and obligations and supportive of government efforts to create an environment where the economy can prosper,” he added.
Also speaking at the workshop, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Reverso Business Services Limited, Ayokunnu Ojeniyi, commended the Nigeria Customs Service for demonstrating openness to innovation and continuous institutional improvement.
He emphasised the importance of embracing change and sustaining capacity-building initiatives to ensure effective trade facilitation.
“If you don’t take change by the hand, it will seize you by the throat. The environment is changing, and Customs must continue to manage that change proactively,” Ojeniyi said, urging participants to apply the lessons from the workshop to drive practical improvements across their respective commands and formations.
The workshop aligns with the Nigeria Customs Service’s wider modernisation agenda, which includes enhanced use of digital technologies, improved stakeholder engagement and strategic partnerships aimed at boosting service delivery, strengthening compliance and improving trade efficiency nationwide.
