Nigeria Customs to Conduct Recruitment Annually, Says CG Adeniyi

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has announced that future recruitment into the agency will be conducted annually instead of at irregular intervals.

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this during a press briefing at the Service’s headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday.

According to Adeniyi, the new approach is aimed at creating a predictable manpower planning system that will enable the Service to replace retiring officers promptly while providing young Nigerians with regular opportunities to join the organisation.

Shift from irregular recruitment

The Comptroller-General said the NCS has moved away from its previous recruitment model, under which prospective applicants often waited several years before another recruitment exercise was announced.

He explained that the new system would make recruitment a continuous and structured process, with the 2026 recruitment exercise expected to begin later this year.

Recruitment to be completed within one year

Adeniyi noted that the Service now has the screening framework, verification procedures and operational systems needed to conduct recruitment exercises 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.

“The 2026 Recruitment Exercise will open later this year, and it is my firm intention that it will be completed within a single calendar year, from advertisement to final list,” he said.

The Customs boss said the initiative is expected to improve workforce planning while ensuring greater transparency and consistency in future recruitment exercises.