NMLF commends Customs on new recruitment

The management of the Nigeria Customs Service under the leadership of Comptroller General Bashir Adewale Adeniyi has been commended on the successful conclusion and release of the list of successful candidates for the 2024/2025 Recruitment Exercise.

The Chairman, Nigerian Maritime Logistics Forum (NMLF), Alhaji Sheikh Hassan Ibrahim, gave this commendation while speaking with PortNews in Lagos.

The NMLF Chairman said the selection of 3,852 candidates from an unprecedented 573,680 applications was a significant institutional achievement while recognizing the critical role the Service plays in facilitating legitimate trade, securing the nation’s borders, and combating smuggling.

According to Alhaji Sheikh Hassan Ibrahim, “the successful selection of 3,852 candidates from an unprecedented 573,680 applications is a significant institutional achievement and reflects the enormous responsibility involved in conducting a recruitment exercise of such magnitude. We particularly commend the Service for the painstaking screening, computer-based examination, credential verification and other layers of scrutiny undertaken to ensure that deserving candidates emerged from a highly competitive process.

“We also commend your candour in addressing the concerns surrounding the duration of the exercise. Your explanation that the extended timeline was largely occasioned by the need to ensure thorough verification and integrity of the process demonstrates a commitment to due process and institutional credibility.

“Of particular significance to us is your announcement that the Nigeria Customs Service will henceforth adopt an annual recruitment cycle, with the 2026 Recruitment Exercise scheduled to commence later this year. We consider this, a forward-looking and strategic decision that will strengthen manpower planning, ensure continuity within the Service, provide opportunities for more young Nigerians, and enable the Service to better anticipate its human-resource requirements in line with retirements and emerging operational demands.

“The Forum also appreciates the emphasis placed on merit, transparency, Federal Character and equitable representation in the distribution of the successful candidates across the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory. Such measures are important in strengthening public confidence in the Nigeria Customs Service and reinforcing its position as a vital national institution.”

On the role of the Service, the he said “As a stakeholder in Nigeria’s maritime and logistics sector, the Nigerian Maritime Logistics Forum recognizes the critical role the Nigeria Customs Service plays in facilitating legitimate trade, securing the nation’s borders, combating smuggling, enhancing revenue generation and creating an enabling environment for the growth of the maritime and logistics industry.

“We are therefore particularly encouraged, by the infusion of a new generation of personnel into the Service at a time when Customs administration is increasingly driven by technology, data, automation and modern risk-management systems. We believe that the new intake will contribute meaningfully to the continued transformation and modernization of the Service.”

While also congratulating the newly successful candidates and wish them a rewarding career in the service of the nation, Alhaji Sheikh Hassan Ibrahim said the Forum remains committed to constructive engagement and collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service and other relevant stakeholders towards the advancement of Nigeria’s maritime, logistics and trade sectors.