Nigeria Customs Wins Commonwealth Gold Award for Customs Cares CSR Initiative
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has earned international recognition after its flagship Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, Customs Cares, won the prestigious Commonwealth Environment and CSR Gold Award in Glasgow, Scotland, in recognition of its community development and sustainability efforts.
The award, presented on Friday, July 31, 2026, celebrates organisations whose initiatives have delivered measurable, sustainable and community-driven interventions that support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
According to the organisers, the Nigeria Customs Service emerged as the winner because of the significant impact of the Customs Cares initiative in the areas of education, healthcare, food security and environmental sustainability across several Nigerian communities.
Receiving the award on behalf of the Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Adewale Adeniyi, Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection, Timi Bomodi, described the honour as a major milestone in the Service’s ongoing transformation.
Bomodi said the recognition underscored the growing importance of public institutions extending their responsibilities beyond their statutory duties to improve the welfare of citizens.
He noted that the award was both humbling and inspiring, adding that it reaffirmed the Service’s belief that the greatest value public institutions create lies not only in carrying out their legal mandates but also in positively transforming the lives of the communities they serve.
Adeniyi, in his remarks, dedicated the award to the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying the achievement reflected the impact of the government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
He disclosed that the Customs Cares initiative had already reached more than 10 million Nigerians across 12 states and the Federal Capital Territory through various interventions, including the renovation of schools, healthcare projects, provision of clean water, food assistance programmes and the Green Borders Initiative aimed at promoting environmental sustainability.
According to the Comptroller-General, the initiative has not only delivered infrastructure and social services but has also strengthened public confidence in the Nigeria Customs Service.
He stated that beyond every classroom renovated, borehole commissioned and tree planted, the Service had succeeded in building lasting trust with communities across the country.
Speaking at the event, the Governor of Tharaka Nithi County in Kenya, Muthomi Njuki, stressed the importance of international collaboration in tackling climate change.
He observed that no nation could address the global climate crisis in isolation, stressing that accountability, partnerships, innovation and shared responsibility remained critical to creating a greener, safer and more prosperous world.
Also speaking, the Comptroller in charge of Corporate Social Responsibility, Mbwiduffu Ibrahim, described the international recognition as a strong motivation for the Service to deepen its community development programmes.
She said Customs had long believed that the positive impact made in communities was reward enough, adding that the global recognition demonstrated that the Service’s efforts had been noticed and appreciated beyond Nigeria’s borders.
The organisers said the Nigeria Customs Service received the gold award largely because of its innovative Hub-and-Spoke Community Activation Model, which has enabled the effective implementation of its CSR programmes across different parts of the country.
They added that the recognition further strengthens the reputation of the Nigeria Customs Service as a modern Customs administration committed not only to revenue generation, trade facilitation and border security, but also to sustainable development and social impact.
