By Saminu Ibrahim
The Nigeria Customs Service Board has approved the confirmation of one Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs and five Assistant Comptrollers-General following the statutory retirement of some senior officers.
The decision was taken at the Board’s 65th Regular Meeting held on September 2, 2026, and chaired by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele.
The appointments, according to a statement by the National Public Relations Officer of the NCS, Abdullahi Maiwada, were made in line with the Federal Character Policy and Section 14(4) of the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023.
Constantine Dim from the South-East was confirmed as Deputy Comptroller-General, while Pascal Chibuoke, Sani Yahaya, Franklin Onyeka, Chibuzor Eyakwaire and Ethelbert Nnaji were confirmed as Assistant Comptrollers-General.
Chibuoke and Nnaji are from the South-East, Yahaya from the North-Central, while Onyeka and Eyakwaire are from the South-South.
The Board also approved the elevation of the NCS Medical Corps to a sub-department headed by an Assistant Comptroller-General and supported by nine Comptrollers.
It was further briefed on the ongoing recruitment exercise, with successful candidates invited for documentation, physical and medical screening scheduled to commence on September 7.
On disciplinary matters, the Board considered several appeals and reached decisions that included dismissal, exoneration, warning, compulsory retirement and reinstatement of affected officers.
The Board also reviewed the Service’s 2026 revenue performance against an annual target of N11.074 trillion.
As of the end of June, the Customs Service had collected N4.30 trillion, representing 36.4 per cent of its annual target.
The Board attributed the revenue drive to measures including the full deployment of the Unified Customs Management System, B’Odogwu, expanded post-clearance and real-time audits, the Authorised Economic Operator and advance ruling programmes, geospatial technology, joint border patrols and increased engagement with the trading community.
It also approved the Nigeria Customs Service De-Minimis Regulation, 2025, following recommendations by the Technical and Operations Committee, to align the regulation with the provisions of the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023.
The Board received updates on the Service’s digital transformation initiatives, which recorded progress in trade systems, human resources automation, NII infrastructure and other digital applications.
It was also informed of an invitation from the Federal Ministry of Finance for memoranda proposing amendments to the Nigeria Customs Service Act for possible consideration in the 2027 Finance Bill.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, on behalf of the Board, congratulated the newly confirmed management members and reaffirmed the Service’s commitment to accountability, institutional strengthening and sustained revenue mobilisation.
