Customs introduces annual recruitment exercise

Etim Ekpimah

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has announced plans to conduct recruitment exercises annually, with the 2026 recruitment process set to commence later this year.

Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this in Abuja while announcing the release of the final list of successful candidates for the 2024/2025 recruitment exercise.

According to him, the new policy is designed to create a predictable and continuous recruitment system that will enable the Service to address manpower needs more efficiently and provide aspiring applicants with regular employment opportunities.

Adeniyi said the NCS had established the necessary screening, verification and recruitment frameworks to ensure future exercises are completed more efficiently.

“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,” he said.

He added that the 2026 recruitment exercise would be launched later this year, with the Service aiming to complete the entire process within a single calendar year.

The Comptroller-General explained that the lengthy 2024/2025 recruitment process helped the Service build structures that would support faster and more streamlined recruitment in future.

Adeniyi also announced that 3,852 candidates had been offered appointments in the concluded 2024/2025 exercise. Of the figure, 1,275 were recruited into the Superintendent Cadre, 367 into the Inspectorate Cadre and 2,210 into the Customs Assistant Cadre.

He noted that the annual recruitment model would improve workforce planning and ensure that vacancies arising from retirements and other exits are filled promptly.