The Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC), Adewale Adeniyi, has assured the South-South Development Commission of the Service’s full support, stressing that the new body has the potential to boost regional economic growth through strategic collaboration with the Nigeria Customs Service.
Adeniyi gave the assurance on Thursday, 18 September 2025, when the Commission’s Managing Director, Usoro Akpabio, led her team on a courtesy visit to the Customs Headquarters in Maitama, Abuja.
The Customs boss, who congratulated Akpabio on her appointment, said the 2023 Customs Act introduced far-reaching reforms requiring broad consultations, noted that the Service would keep conversations open with the Commission to guarantee inclusivity and shared prosperity. He added that both institutions should reconvene soon to mobilise wider stakeholder participation.
While congratulating the Commission on its inauguration, Adeniyi emphasised that Customs management including officers outside the South-South remained committed to supporting its mandate. He proposed the creation of a joint working team to serve as a platform for partnership in areas such as trade facilitation, border management, and economic integration.
The CGC also highlighted the Service’s recently launched Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme, designed to give back to host communities through projects in education, healthcare, and infrastructure, stressing that the initiative reflects Customs’ commitment to inclusive growth.
In her response, Akpabio praised the reform and modernisation efforts of the Customs Service, described them as exemplary. She explained that the Commission, barely three weeks after inauguration, had been entrusted with a wide-ranging mandate covering the blue economy, agriculture, human capital development, infrastructure, and utilities across the South-South region.
She assured that the Commission would pursue a lasting strategic alliance with the Customs Service to promote transparency, regional growth, and national development.
