Consolidating Reforms: Behind Adeniyi’s Extra 6 Months as Customs CG

To consolidate ongoing agency reforms, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu granted Comptroller-General Bashir Adewale Adeniyi a final six-month tenure extension, ensuring the Modakeke, Osun State-born boss remains in office until February 2027. Below, The paper explores Customs’ milestones and other related developments under his command.

SINCE his appointment in June 2023 as the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi has midwifed some reforms which have broken all manner of records hitherto set in the history of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

From increased revenue generation to adoption of World Customs Organisation (WCO) tools like the Time Release Study (TRS), Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) Programme, and the Post Clearance Audit (PCA) & Advance Rulings; Bashir Adewale Adeniyi has not just led the Service into new grounds but has also attracted international recognition with his election as the WCO Chairman in July 2025.

The six-month extension is coming at a time when the Service is implementing far-reaching reforms, including full digitalisation of Customs operations, implementation of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023 and the rollout of the indigenous B’Odogwu Unified Customs Management System. It is pertinently believed that the extension is intended to provide continuity for these reforms and ensure they are fully institutionalised.

INCREASED REVENUE HAUL

Prior to the appointment of Bashir Adewale Adeniyi as Customs CG in 2023, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) set for itself an ambitious revenue target of N3.02 trillion for the year 2022. However, the Service could only generate N2.60 trillion as at the year ended 2022.

Following Adeniyi’s appointment as Customs CG by the middle of 2023, the Service was able to come close to its N3.68 trillion revenue target for 2023, collecting a total revenue of N3.21 trillion in the 2023 fiscal year.

By 2024, which represented the first full year of Adeniyi’s term as Customs CG, the Service surpassed its annual revenue target of N5.07 trillion by 22 percent, collecting historic, record-breaking revenue of N6.105 trillion. This represented a massive 90.4 percent increase compared to the N3.2 trillion generated in 2023.

By the year 2025, the NCS under Adewale Adeniyi further smashed its revenue record by generating a total of N7.281 trillion, marking one of its strongest financial performances in recent years. The N7.281 trillion revenue outlay exceeded the Service’s 2025 approved annual target of N6.5 trillion by N697bn, representing a growth of over 10 percent above the target, and a year-on-year increase of about 19 percent compared to the N6.1 trillion collected in 2024.

For the year 2026, the Nigeria Customs Service has projected an overall revenue target of N9 trillion following a record-breaking performance in 2025. The Service looks set to also surpass the N9 trillion revenue target for the year 2026, having maintained strong momentum driven by trade facilitation reforms, voluntary compliance, and tighter digital controls to curb cargo diversion.

While details of the second quarter of 2026 revenue profile is still being expected, the Service has already generated N1.75 trillion in the first quarter of 2026. Also, export earnings for the first quarter of 2026 hit $925.84 million, marking a 38.68 percent increase year-on-year. Container throughput also surged by 95.58 percent to 19,014 units compared to the same period in 2025.

WCO ELECTION

Another reason why the incumbent Customs CG earned a six-month tenure extension bothers on his emergence as the first Nigerian Comptroller-General of Customs elected Chairperson of the World Customs Organization (WCO) Council.

On the 1st of July, 2025, the World Customs Organisation (WCO) Council, the governing body of the organisation, comprising the Heads of 186 Customs administrations, formally elected Mr. Bashir Adewale Adeniyi as its Chairperson for a two-year period.

With the two-year tenure of the WCO Council set to lapse by June 2027, it is evident that the six-month extension granted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (which comes to an end by February 2027) might not even be enough for the Modakeke-born Customs helmsman to completely implement his vision for global Customs operations.

The Council is the supreme decision-making body of the WCO and convenes once a year. It is during these annual Council Sessions that final decisions regarding the Organisation’s work and activities are agreed upon. With 186 members, the Chairperson plays a vital role bringing together Members’ views to guide the work of the global Customs community.

The Council directs international Customs policy, enforces technical standards, and fosters cooperation to secure supply chains and facilitate legitimate commerce.

SEIZURES

Under the leadership of Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, the Nigeria Customs Service has intensified intelligence-driven anti-smuggling operations, intercepting illicit goods, arms, and contraband worth tens of billions of naira nationwide.

Key seizures under his tenure include interception of hundreds of smuggled rifles, ammunition, drones, and military gear concealed in shipping containers from Turkey at the Onne and Apapa Ports.

Also, the Service has conducted major busts of illicit substances, including a N13.9 billion seizure of codeine cough syrup, and the interception of massive cocaine shipments at PTML and Lagos ports.

The Service has also confiscated over 1.7 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) diverted for illegal smuggling to neighboring countries under “Operation Whirlwind.”

There have also been seizures of thousands of bags of foreign parboiled rice, grains, and restricted consumer goods to protect local industries; and interception of illegal wildlife and animal parts valued in the billions.

With Adeniyi set to steer the affairs of the Nigeria Customs Service till February 2027, expectations are rife that the Service will further break more grounds in the area of revenue generation, arms seizure and implementation of more WCO trade facilitation tools.

As Originally Published by Nigerian Tribune