Nigeria Customs Service, CG Adeniyi to Receive Double Honour »

The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, and the Service have been selected for separate awards by Democracy Newsline Newspaper for their contributions to public service, trade facilitation and economic development.

The NCS will receive the “Most Compliant Government Agency in Trade Facilitation” award, while CG Adeniyi will be honoured with the “Excellent Public Service Leadership” award.

The awards will be presented on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, during the 16th Public Lecture of Democracy Newsline Newspaper and its induction into the Good Governance Hall of Fame.

According to the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Democracy Newsline, Chief Olugbemi Femi, the recognition is aimed at honouring institutions and public officials contributing to transparency, efficiency and improved service delivery.

Femi said the Customs Service had recorded significant progress in trade facilitation, automation, revenue generation and anti-smuggling operations under Adeniyi’s leadership.

“Under CG Bashir Adeniyi’s leadership, the Nigeria Customs Service has recorded unprecedented strides in trade facilitation, automation, revenue generation, and anti-smuggling operations,” he said.

He added that Adeniyi had demonstrated “visionary leadership, professionalism, and commitment to staff welfare and national service”, describing the awards as recognition of both institutional and individual performance.

The organisers said the NCS had, under the current administration, advanced the implementation of the B’Odogwu Trade Portal, expanded the Authorized Economic Operator Programme, strengthened border security and improved collaboration with other government agencies to ease doing business in Nigeria.

The event, with the theme “Economic Reform and Sustainable Development in a Democracy: The Nigeria Experience,” is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. at the Banquet Hall, National Merit House, Maitama, Abuja.

The keynote lecture will be delivered by Kogi State Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Mukadam Asiwaju Asiru Idris, FCA.

Chief (Mrs) Moji Makanjuola, a veteran broadcaster, will chair the occasion, while the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, is the Special Guest of Honour.

HRH Akogun Isiaq Ajibola, former Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Daily Trust Limited, is the patron of the event.

Democracy Newsline said officers and men of the Nigeria Customs Service, stakeholders in the trade sector and members of the public are expected at the ceremony. They urged members of the public to contact 08039376737 and 08058034524 for reservations.