The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is witnessing another round of leadership crisis over its almost concluded management succession plan, as fresh calls for third tenure extension for the Comptroller General (CGC) Adewale Adeniyi, as well as service years extension for the few remaining members of his management team, elicit vicious reaction within and outside the security agency
By Our Correspondent
Based on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive, the 2009 set of new-generation officers of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) are taking over the leadership of the Area Commands of the Service across the country. These are also awaiting their impending promotions to the ranks of Comptrollers, Assistant Comptrollers General (ACGs) and Deputy Comptrollers General (DCGs), based on the same presidential directive, before their eventual assumption of management positions in Abuja by February 2027 when the incumbent management led by the current Comptroller General (CGC), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, would wind up.
Excitement from within and outside the NCS has been greeting the deployment of the 2009 set of officers to man grade “A” Commands of the Service as acting Customs Area Controllers (CACs) since December 2025 till last month, October 2026, as a prelude to their complete takeover of the Service’s topmost leadership positions in Abuja. At the last count, powerful Commands such as Apapa Area 1, Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zones and C Lagos and Owerri respectively, Kano-Jigawa, Kiri-Kiri Lighter Terminal (KLT), PTML, Lagos and Calabar Free Trade Zones, Lagos Airport Cargo wing, Lagos International Airport among others, are under the leadership of the new-generation Deputy Comptrollers, and they are reportedly delivering commendable leadership roles in the core mandates of the NCS. These mandates include Enforcement moves and security of the nation, facilitation of legitimate trade, as well as Revenue generation.
Consequent upon their energy and youthfulness which appear to be driving their leadership of the Commands towards more efficiency, civility and better strategic approach, stakeholders and the business community have become ostensibly more at home with the leadership of the 2009 new-generation officers, to an extent that many of these stakeholders are said to be waiting impatiently for the time when the last old-generation management of Adeniyi would end by February 2027. There appear to be excitement and great expectations amongst the business community over the news that the “digital boys and ladies” as the new-generation officers are often referred to by admirers, are practically out to take the NCS to stardom given their vibrant leadership at the Commands level.
Unfortunately, the excitement on the part of the business community and other stakeholders, as well as within the Service which serves as morale booster, may soon cease, and usher in morale killer if President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Minister of Finance, Taiwo Oyedele, fail to take prompt and effective action to nip the brewing crisis in the bud, keen watchers of Customs events said. The alleged crisis is brewing due to the claim in some quarters that the Adeniyi-led management team which is due to vacate office in few months’ time, may have been scheming to persuade President Tinubu and Oyedele to grant another tenure extension for the CGC, and also extend service years of the already depleted members of the incumbent management team. This medium gathered that the body language of the CGC and that of the remaining few members of his management team indicates that they may have been plotting to remain for another one year in spite of Tinubu’s directive that the 2009 set of officers should take over Customs leadership in Abuja by next year’s February. Credible sources hinted that the body language of the incumbent Customs management on the contentious extension issue may have betrayed its sincerity to retire when their years of service are over. This is based on the allegations that certain lobbyists close to Customs management team may have been sponsoring position papers requesting President Tinubu to retain the CGC after February 2027 despite having granted him two tenure extensions, and also grant the remaining members of the team one year extension. This allegation which the Customs management is yet to deny or confirm, is sending wrong signals to the 2009 set of officers whom President Tinubu specifically directed that they should be trained and prepared for management takeover come February next year.
Recall that numerous Comptrollers, ACGs and DCGs had grudgingly retired last September having attained retirement age, after they had tried and failed to secure service years extension, their quest to make good the intention was alleged to have been resisted by the Adeniyi-led management. The retirement gale led to the depletion of the management team as there is less than required number of ACGs and DCGs in the NCS at present.
The report of Adeniyi and his management team’s alleged plot to remain in the NCS as its national leaders after February 2027, citing the youthfulness and inexperience of the 2009 set of officers is not coming without its dire consequences in the agency. Already, there is murmuring and mutual suspicion which is killing morale, more so as the management has yet to debunk the report and assure the Service of management members’ willingness to retire when the ovation is loudest for them. The matter is worsened by the fact that some groups and individuals have undertaken to flooding the presidency with position papers requesting Tinubu to approve a third tenure extension for Adeniyi and one-year service years extension for the remaining members of his management team.
Chiefly among those seeking tenure elongation for Adeniyi and one-year service years extension for members of his management team is a frontline Customs licensed freight forwarding association based in Lagos, and identified as the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF). However, the NAGAFF advocacy and that of other groups has been punctured by series of other position papers warning Tinubu to ignore any calls for tenure and service years extension for the current Customs management team if he (Tinubu) does not want to destroy the discipline, technological advancement and efficiency which the NCS has recorded under its new breed of officers. Stakeholders warned that any further extensions for the current Customs management would retard growth, advancement, progression, destroy efficiency and kill the bubbling morale of the new-generation officers. They contended further that since these new breed officers are doing great at the command’s level where the core of Customs operations lie, and from where those who occupied the management offices were elevated, there is no indication that youthfulness can hinder the new-generation officers from unleashing their leadership acumen at the management level to take the Service to greater heights from first quarter of next year.
HOW THE FRESH CRISIS STARTED
Last September, a sizeable number of Comptrollers and ACGs retired from the NCS. Those had aspired to obtain an extension for another one year in the Service but failed. Even the CGC and his management team had allegedly opposed such move by the retired management officers, insisting there was no need for such extension. The Finance Minister, Oyedele had backed the no-extension stance of the Customs management.
This medium had reported previously that Tinubu’s letter of second tenure extension for Adeniyi had specifically stated that the 2009 set of Deputy Comptrollers (DCs) should be prepared for management takeover next February when the Adeniyi management would expire. Following the instruction, Oyedele had sought to obtain a one-year waiver from President Tinubu to enable all the DCs of 2009 and a few of 2012, as well as those of the old-generation set to sit for another promotion examination before the end of 2026 to enable the successful ones to be eligible to be promoted to the rank of substantive Comptrollers before another elevation to ACG and DCG ranks, from where Tinubu would appoint the most favored among them as the next CGC.
Confirming what is referred to as the seamless leadership transition plan of President Tinubu for the NCS, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Customs, Honourable Leke Abejide, said the move was intended to bridge the 16 years generational gap created by non-recruitment of personnel into Customs. Abejide, in an interview, revealed that President Tinubu had approved the retirement of all the old-generation officers, including Adeniyi and his management team members after they have served 35 years or attained 60 years of age in order to pave the way for the incoming new-generation management officers. He added that the second extension granted Adeniyi was transitional which President Tinubu used to close the 16 years generational gap, and that it came without any intention of further extension, while over 1,500 officers belonging to the sets of 41000 to 43000 would retire statutorily under the Civil Service Rule (CSR) 100238.
Abejide had said, “Nigerian people should know that the Nigeria Customs is challenged. They have 16 years of generational gap. The current DCs of 2009 set is the set that will take over from the current CGC.
“We’re doing these things to make the Service to be stable, and close the generational gap. That’s what the President prefers to close the 16 years generational gap. The only way to close the gap is to pick one of them from the 2009 set which is what the President has decided to do.
“After them, no other number. Customs work with number. 41000 number; they’re all going, 42000 number; they’re all going, 43000 number; they’re all going. The next number is 44000 which is the 2009 set. This is what the President has instructed”.
Upon the presidential directive, management had embarked on both local and foreign leadership training for the 2009 set of DCs. To further cement the consummation of a seamless transition from Adeniyi management to the new team, the former had facilitated the deployment of the DCs to the critical Area Commands and formations as acting Area Controllers and heads of formations. But few months into the consummation of the transition, rumours filtered that the incumbent management team has begun to lobby for tenure extension, a move that is unsettling the NCS at the moment.
What may have worsened the situation is the allegation that the body language of the Customs management indicated that its members are in support of the letters requesting Tinubu to extend their continued stay in office after attaining retirement age, a situation stakeholders insisted that it is tantamount to flouting the presidential order for the closing of the generational gap, and allow the new-generation officers of 2009 to take over Customs leadership. Worried stakeholders said the quest for another extension amounted to gross insubordination by the members of the Adeniyi-led management to the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic.
PROPONENTS OF EXTENSION VERSUS DEFENDERS OF PRESIDENT’S DIRECTIVE
Those calling for tenure and service years extension are being countered by other groups which have sounded caution, and urged President Tinubu and Oyedele the Minister, to be mindful of people who want to rub mud on the hard-earned image of the NCS by seeking unlawful extensions, to the detriment of the agency. These called on Tinubu and Oyedele to ignore such requests which they claimed are self-seeking, and not in the best interest of the Service which currently boasts of youthful, energetic and purpose-driven new-generation officers hungry for getting the Service to be at par with Customs of developed economies.
For example, the Sea Empowerment and Research Centre (SEREC), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) with bias in shipping and maritime affairs, has opposed calls for any kind of extension of the tenure of the old-generation senior officers of the NCS. SEREC insisted that the new-generation officers of 2009 should be assessed fairly on the basis of their competency in leadership, and allowed to take over Customs leadership as President Tinubu has directed.
The Centre argued that the assumption that younger officers lack the experience required for senior management positions was unjustified without an objective assessment of their qualifications, professional competence and operational records.
In an official policy statement signed by its Director-General, Francis Aniezechukwu, SEREC acknowledged the importance of institutional continuity but maintained that the achievements of the Customs Service were the collective results of personnel across different ranks.
According to the SEREC, revenue collection, anti-smuggling operations, intelligence gathering, cargo examination, trade facilitation and enforcement activities depend on the contributions of officers throughout the Service, not senior management alone.
It maintained that the operational contributions of the new-generation officers must be recognised and assessed rather than dismissed through generalisations about their readiness for leadership.
SEREC said the 2009 generation of officers have accumulated nearly two decades of experience in customs valuation, tariff classification, cargo examination, revenue collection and border enforcement.
The Centre noted that officers recruited during the period should no longer be regarded as inexperienced solely because they joined the Service later than their predecessors.
The Centre also stressed that eligibility for senior management positions should be determined by individual qualifications, professional training, operational performance and leadership experience, which are all in favour of the 2009 set.
“The proper question is, therefore, not whether they joined later than their seniors, but whether they satisfy the requirements for their prospective appointments,” the statement said.
To illustrate the scale of professional responsibilities within the Service, SEREC cited NCS performance figures showing that the Service recorded 2,442 seizures valued at approximately ₦25.52 billion in duty-paid terms in the first half of 2024.
It also referenced reported revenue generation of approximately ₦6.105 trillion in 2024, representing 20.2 per cent above the Service’s annual target.
The Centre said these results reflected the collective efforts of Customs personnel across operational Commands and administrative departments, while cautioning against attributing the achievements exclusively to any particular recruitment generation without supporting evidence.
Nevertheless, SEREC warned that succession planning should not be postponed through repeated extensions of senior officers’ tenure.
According to the statement, any extension must comply with applicable laws and public-service rules and be justified by a clearly defined institutional need.
The centre consequently called on Tinubu, the Nigeria Customs Service Board and other relevant authorities to adopt a transparent, lawful and merit-based approach to leadership succession.
It recommended an assessment of officers eligible for senior management appointments, the publication of anonymised statistics on their qualifications and professional experience, recognition of documented operational achievements, structured knowledge transfer and clear succession plans.
The organisation maintained that officers who had contributed to building and operating the Service should be given a fair opportunity to demonstrate their readiness to lead.
“The future of the Nigeria Customs Service must be secured through planned succession, professional development and merit—not through an indefinite extension of the past,” the statement added.
When contacted for his reaction to the controversy which is affecting the morale of the new-generation officers, the national image maker of the NCS, Abdullahi Maiwada was unable to comment on the burning issue. Maiwada, a DC, as well as one of the new-generation officers, said he was attending a crucial meeting when this medium called. But he promised to call back after the meeting to comment on the Cover Story, a promise he was also unable to fulfill. In our next edition, Tentacle will dig deep to unravel the real faces of the lobbyists and their sponsors, as well as the underlying factor behind the quest for tenure extension.
NCS, US BUSINESS COMMUNITY ENTER PARTNERSHIP
In the meantime, the NCS and the United States Business community have entered a partnership to advance trade facilitation, the partnership is coming at a time when the Nigeria Customs said
it has unveiled digital reforms for more efficient operations, and planned to deploy 22 additional scanners for cargo examination.
The Nigeria Customs also reaffirmed commitment to strengthening trade relations with the United States business community, pledging to deepen institutional collaboration, accelerate trade facilitation and create a more predictable business environment for investors.
These efforts were revealed during a quarterly engagement with the US Chamber of Commerce, the US-Africa Business Centre (USAfBC) and the American Business Council (ABC), held on Wednesday, 28 October 2026, at the ICT Auditorium of NCS Headquarters, Maitama, Abuja.
Speaking on behalf of the Comptroller General of Customs, CGC Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, the Deputy Comptroller General of Customs in charge of Tariff and Trade, Caroline Niagwan, said the engagement provided an important platform for strengthening economic cooperation between Nigeria and the United States, while addressing issues affecting American businesses operating in the country.
Niagwan reaffirmed the Service’s commitment to institutional reforms, operational efficiency, digital transformation and sustained stakeholder engagement, stressing that its overarching objective remains the development of a modern, transparent and responsive Customs administration.
“Our objective is to build a modern, transparent, and responsive Customs administration that facilitates trade while ensuring effective revenue collection, border security, and compliance with applicable rules and regulations,” she stated.
She explained that regular engagements with the business community are essential to identifying operational bottlenecks, exchanging perspectives and developing practical solutions to emerging trade-related concerns.
According to her, predictable Customs procedures, transparent tariff administration, timely cargo clearance and effective dispute resolution mechanisms remain critical to improving the ease of doing business and strengthening investor confidence.
Providing further insight into the Service’s modernisation drive, the Deputy Comptroller General of Customs in charge of ICT/Modernisation, Oluyomi Adebakin, highlighted ongoing initiatives aimed at reducing administrative bottlenecks through technology-driven solutions.
She disclosed that the Service is automating licence and permit applications, while plans are underway to deploy 22 additional scanners across seaports, airports and border stations to strengthen cargo examination and improve operational efficiency.
In her remarks, the President of the US-Africa Business Centre at the US Chamber of Commerce, Kendra Gaither, commended the Nigeria Customs Service for its contributions to the country’s economic development, observing that the importance of efficient Customs operations is often most evident when trade processes functioned seamlessly.
“When Customs works well, when trade is facilitated, people are the ultimate beneficiaries,” she said.
Gaither maintained that an efficient and responsive Customs administration is indispensable to unlocking investment opportunities across critical sectors, including agriculture, energy, critical minerals, healthcare and the digital economy. She also expressed appreciation for the continued partnership between the NCS and American business community.
Similarly, the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Secretary of the American Business Council Nigeria, Margaret Olele, applauded the Service for its progress in trade facilitation, transparency and stakeholder engagement.
Olele particularly congratulated the NCS on its emergence as one of the top-performing agencies in the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) Compliance Assessment, describing the achievement as a testament to the Service’s commitment to improving the business environment.
The Council also acknowledged progress recorded under the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) Programme, Advance Rulings and dispute resolution mechanisms, noting that the quarterly engagements had provided a valuable avenue for addressing longstanding challenges confronting businesses.
The meeting further reinforced the importance of sustained institutional cooperation between NCS and American business community in promoting trade efficiency, strengthening investor confidence and advancing mutually beneficial economic relations between Nigeria and the United States.
