The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has taken a significant step toward institutional reform by unveiling its Service Reputation Management Guide. the handbook is a key tool in the service’s strategic effort to enhance its public image and foster greater professionalism among its officers.
The comptroller-general of the NCS, Adewale Adeniyi, officially unveiled the new guide on tuesday at the service’s headquarters in Abuja. Speaking at the event, Adeniyi emphasized that the handbook’s main objective is to provide a clear and practical guide for officers. He stated that it will help them to understand their roles and responsibilities while also ensuring they conduct themselves professionally and adhere to the highest ethical standards.
The initiative signals a firm commitment by the NCS to improve its operational standards and rebuild public trust.
“It is an opportunity for every Customs officer to be a part of the project to rewrite the history of the Customs.
“We want to launch a new phase of Customs. We want to go beyond our traditional mandate,” he said.
He said the service had surpassed its targets on revenue generation in past years and was making strides in combating illicit trade.
“In 2023, we recorded a 70 percent increase. In 2024, we recorded a 92 per cent increase in our revenue.
“We are making spectacular seizures on making Nigeria safer, but most importantly, we are also taking very seriously our responsibility in the trade facilitation ecosystem.
“Nothing gladdens me more than the fact that the whole world is taking note of the advances that we are making, the impact that the trade facilitation initiatives are making in the system,” he said.
According to him, NCS personnel must reposition themselves to be seen as a government agency that is trusted, respected, and responsive.
He said that the World Customs Organisation (WCO) required customs organisations to put in place measures to ensure transparency, integrity, efficiency and inclusivity in its operations.
“WCO advocates that we must put in place all those developmental models.
“Some of them include giving women the opportunity to be part of an organisation and to take leadership positions, and that is what we have been doing.
“Very recently, we launched the Corporate Social Responsibility programme to show Nigerians that we are indeed alive to our responsibilities, especially in the areas where we perform our operations.
“We therefore decided to identify critical areas of President Bola Tinubu’s social investment agenda.
“We identified some key pillars, education, health, creative economy, access to water, and made investments in these areas to show our responsibility that we do care,” he said.
Adeniyi stated that the unveiling of the reputation guide was aimed at helping NCS officers understand their responsibility to maintain a good reputation.
He added that the guide was designed to ensure that the NCS built a strong reputation and served as a practical manual on the expectations required of them.
Adeniyi thanked President Tinubu for extending his tenure, describing it as a motivation and inspiration to do more.
On his part, Isah Umar, Assistant Comptroller of Customs in charge of the headquarters, described the unveiling of the guide as timely and aligned with the WCO’s core theme of integrity.
Represented by the Comptroller, Special Duties, H.H. Hadison, he noted that the guide illustrated the unwavering dedication of the C-G to promote professionalism, transparency, and accountability within the service.
Earlier, Dr Ike Neliaku, the President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), commended the NCS for institutionalising reputation management within the agency.
Represented by his Vice, Prof. Emmanuel Dandaura, he expressed confidence that the handbook would better equip Customs personnel to represent the service with a strong sense of responsibility and professionalism.
