There have been growing concerns from maritime stakeholders on the future of Nigeria Customs Service(NCS), following the reported phased statutory retirement of the entire top echelon of the Service, next year.
According to observers, these crop of officers who represent the bridge between the professional corps of officers and the digital customs corps are described as “The Last of the Strong Ones”, the title of a novel written by Prof. Akachi Adimora- Ezeigbo.
Just like the novel explores the thematic message of navigating a shift from an old order to a new order; the Comptroller General of Customs(CGC),Adewale Adeniyi’s- led management is said to be engineering NCS in a disruptive voyage from the old corporate traditional customs noted for service and patriotism to the digital generation where professionalism and practices are defined by the conflicts between demand notice(DN) and true meaning of trade facilitation on one hand and the obsession for personal wealth accumulation and generation of revenue for government on the other hand.
This latter generation have been alleged to embody palm-greasing, opulence, insolence and discourteousness in customer relationship management(CRM), necessitating the questions: What is the future of Nigeria Customs? Is the problem within or influenced by social vagaries in the larger society? What role has training played, and can play for change?
In a story broken by This Page, the entire current management of NCS will be exiting the Service by September 2026. A break down shows that five Deputy Comptroller Generals of Customs(DCGs), fifteen Assistant Comptroller Generals (ACGs), 825 senior officers, among others, will leave in line with the public service rules.
This was contained in a circular marked NO HRD/2025/048, entitled ‘Final list of officers/men for statutory Retirement in year 2026, dated September 19, 2025, and signed by AA Bazuaye, Controller in of Establishment, for the Deputy Comptroller General (HRD).
The CGC, as stated, might assemble officers from within the ranks of Comptrollers and Deputy Comptrollers to fill the gaps in the management cadre. However, this does not only suggest gaps and flaw in the promotion line of the NCS, but raises the question of how qualified are these officers for the accidental promotion.
While almost all the DCGs and ACGs will commence their pre-retirement leave on September 23rd 2026, only one of the DCGs will commence terminal leave on April 6, next year.
To fight the festering disregard for public service rules among officers and personnel now in the system, the Service noted in another circular that all affected officers due for retirement in 2026 are to discharge from active service and proceed on 3 months’ pre-retirement leave, three months prior to the effective date of retirement’.
The circular charged all affected officers to ensure compliance and forward their three months pre-retirement notice to the Comptroller General of Customs accordingly.
Meanwhile,Zonal Co-ordinators , Area Controllers, and Unit Heads are requested to make the list available for circulation to all the affected officers in their respective zones, areas and units.
Consequently, there are palpable fears that this exodus of professionals in one fell swoop will create confusion and hiatus in customs operations and forebodes gloom.
