The Comptroller-General of Customs, CGC Adewale Adeniyi, has urged senior officers of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to address the internal weaknesses hindering operational effectiveness across the Service.
CGC Adeniyi made the call while declaring open the 2025 CGC Conference themed “Building Future Partnerships: Lessons from the Customs-PACT Conference”, held at the Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, on Thursday, November 20, 2025.
The event aimed to reflect on and proffer strategic plans that would enhance the Service’s performance.
The CGC stated that the Service must now apply the same discipline, coordination, and clarity that delivered the successful Customs Partnership for African Cooperation in Trade (C-PACT) Summit to its internal operations.
He reminded participants that only a day earlier, the Service concluded a landmark continental engagement that brought customs chiefs, private-sector partners and representatives from all African regions to Abuja.
However, he cautioned that “you can’t sustain external credibility without internal integrity. Turn the mirror inward and force honest discussions about what is working, what is failing and what must change.”
Speaking on the conference theme, the Customs boss said that the goal was to extract the principles behind the success of the international summit, including coordination, unified messaging, disciplined execution, and embed them permanently in the Service’s operating culture.
He recalled that, during preparations for the C-PACT Summit, the Service held weekly coordination meetings for 16 consecutive weeks, aligning messages with AfCFTA, resolving conflicts quickly and maintaining unity, because “failure was not an option with the world watching.”
He added that the two-day programme will feature panel discussions, challenging presentations and open conversations where ideas matter more than rank.
