Adewale Adeniyi Declares New Era in Customs Recruitment
• Releases final list of successful candidates for 2024/2025 exercise as 3,852 out of 573,680 applicants scale hurdle
•Says annual exercise to be merit-based, void of favouritism, uncertainty going forward
James Emejo and Deborah Adekoya in Abuja
Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Mr. Basir Wale Adeniyi, yesterday announced a landmark reform of customs recruitment process, stating that enlistment into the service will now become an annual, predictable, and strictly merit-based exercise.
Adeniyi, who also released the final list of successful candidates for the 2024/2025 recruitment exercise, said the move aimed at eliminating years of uncertainty, ending perceptions of favouritism, and ensuring a steady pipeline of qualified personnel.
Speaking at a media briefing in Abuja, he said the service had institutionalised a transparent recruitment framework that would guarantee yearly opportunities for qualified Nigerians.
The reform came as the service concluded one of the most competitive recruitment exercises in its history, selecting 3,852 successful candidates from a staggering 573,680 applications received nationwide.
Declaring the commencement of a new era in customs recruitment, the CGC said future recruitment would no longer be conducted at irregular intervals but would become a standing annual exercise.
He said, “The Nigeria Customs Service is moving to an annual recruitment cycle. Recruitment will no longer be an occasional event undertaken every several years. It will be a standing, predictable, yearly process.
“The 2026 Recruitment Exercise will open later this year, and it is my firm intention that it will be completed within a single calendar year, from advertisement to final list.”
He explained that the digital systems, screening architecture and verification processes developed during the just-concluded recruitment exercise had now become permanent institutional assets, making future exercises faster, more efficient and transparent.
According to him, much of the delay experienced during the current recruitment arose from building the recruitment infrastructure from scratch, stressing that the difficult phase had now been overcome.
Adeniyi said, “The systems, the screening architecture and the verification processes built during this exercise now exist, and they will not have to be built again. The delays of this cycle were in significant part the cost of constructing that machinery. That cost has now been paid.”
He maintained that the new annual recruitment framework would enable the service to replace retiring officers in a systematic manner while giving unsuccessful applicants certainty about when the next opportunity would arise.
He stressed that the recruitment process remained entirely merit-driven despite enormous interest generated across the country.
Adeniyi said, “I will say one further thing, and I will say it plainly. An exercise of this scale, in a country of this size, attracts interest from many quarters.
“What I can tell you is that the list I place before you today is one I am prepared to defend on its merits, and the standards the Service set for itself at the beginning of this process are the standards that produced it.”
The CGC disclosed that only 3,852 applicants eventually secured employment out of 573,680 applications submitted, representing an overall success rate of 0.67 per cent, or nearly one successful applicant out of every 148 candidates.
Of the successful candidates, 1,275 were recruited into the Superintendent Cadre, 367 into the Inspectorate Cadre, while 2,210 gained entry into the Customs Assistant Cadre.
The Inspectorate Cadre emerged as the most competitive category, attracting 128,604 applications for only 367 vacancies—equivalent to one successful candidate out of every 350 applicants.
Similarly, the Superintendent Cadre recorded 276,995 applications for 1,275 positions, while 168,081 applicants competed for 2,210 Customs Assistant vacancies.
Commenting on the more than 560,000 unsuccessful applicants, the customs boss urged them not to lose hope. He said many met the required standards but were edged out by the intense level of competition.
“he stated, You were not rejected; you were unlucky in a field of extraordinary competition. Many of you met every requirement the Service set. There were simply not enough places.
“I encourage you to remain engaged with the Service, to keep your credentials current, and to apply again. The next opportunity is not years away.”
The CGC also apologised for the prolonged recruitment process, acknowledging the anxiety and frustration experienced by applicants and their families.
He explained that the lengthy exercise resulted from the unprecedented number of applications, extensive verification procedures and significant retirements among senior officers, all of which placed enormous pressure on the administrative machinery overseeing the exercise.
According to him, every application passed through several stages of scrutiny, including application screening, computer-based examinations and verification against the national identity database before the final list was approved.
He disclosed that successful candidates would still undergo physical and medical examinations before receiving final approval by the Nigeria Customs Service Board (NCSB)
On geographical spread, Adeniyi said the recruitment strictly complied with the Federal Character principle.
He explained that all 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were represented in the final list, with every state receiving an equal allocation of 105 positions, comprising 35 Superintendent Cadre, 10 Inspectorate Cadre and 60 Customs Assistant Cadre slots, while the FCT received 72 positions in accordance with the approved formula.
He emphasised that no officer exercised personal discretion in allocating vacancies.
“Not one place was allocated at the discretion of any officer of this Service. The Federal Character principle has been applied in full,” he said.
The recruitment also recorded modest progress in female representation.
Women secured 839 positions, accounting for 21.8 per cent of the total intake—slightly exceeding their 21.2 per cent share of total applications.
The CGC said female applicants enjoyed marginally better success rates than male applicants in two of the three recruitment cadres, adding that the service intended to attract more qualified women into operational and enforcement duties in subsequent exercises.
He further disclosed that the median age of successful candidates was 26 years, with nearly three-quarters below the age of 30.
According to him, the youthful intake aligns with the service’s long-term transformation agenda as customs administration increasingly relies on technology, data analytics and automated risk management systems.
The CGC also assured Nigerians that despite the retirement of many senior officers in recent years, the service had maintained operational stability and continued to record strong performances in revenue generation and anti-smuggling operations.
He attributed the resilience to the support of President Bola Tinubu, the NCSB, and the professionalism of officers and men of the Service.
The customs boss reiterated that recruitment into the service remained completely free and warned applicants against fraudsters.
According to him, “Successful candidates should watch only the official channels of the service. Recruitment into the Nigeria Customs Service is free. No candidate has paid, and no candidate should pay, any person or group for a place on this list.
“Anyone who solicits payment on our behalf is a criminal and should be reported immediately to the Service and the security agencies.”
While congratulating the successful candidates, the CGC reminded them that they had earned their positions through one of the country’s most rigorous recruitment exercises and would be expected to uphold the high standards and traditions of the service from the beginning of their careers.