Customs adopts new recruitment policy

From Godwin Tsa, Abuja

Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has announced a major shift in its recruitment policy, adopting an annual recruitment cycle aimed at eliminating the uncertainty and prolonged delays that have characterised previous exercises.

The announcement came as the Service released the final list of successful candidates for its 2024/2025 recruitment exercise, which attracted 573,680 applications for just 3,852 vacancies across the Superintendent, Inspectorate and Customs Assistant cadres.

Speaking during the briefing, the Comptroller-General of Customs described the policy change as the most significant outcome of the recruitment exercise, declaring that recruitment into the Service would no longer be conducted on an irregular, multi-year basis.

“Recruitment into the Nigeria Customs Service will no longer be an occasional event undertaken every several years. It will now become a standing, predictable, yearly process,” he said.

He disclosed that the next recruitment exercise would commence before the end of 2026, with the Service targeting the completion of the entire process—from advertisement to publication of the final list—within a single calendar year.

The Comptroller-General explained that much of the delay experienced during the just-concluded exercise resulted from the development of a robust recruitment infrastructure, including applicant screening systems and verification architecture linked to the National Identity Database.

According to him, the systems are now fully in place and will no longer require rebuilding for future recruitment exercises.

“The delays of this cycle were, in significant part, the cost of constructing that machinery,” he said. “That cost has now been paid.”

He noted that the decision to institutionalise annual recruitment was informed by the Service’s manpower planning needs, particularly as it continues to experience the retirement of senior and management personnel.

The new approach, he said, would enable Customs to align recruitment with projected retirements and workforce requirements, ensuring a more efficient and responsive staffing process.

The Comptroller-General also said the policy would provide hope for the more than 560,000 applicants who were unsuccessful in the latest exercise.

Rather than waiting indefinitely for another recruitment opportunity, he said prospective applicants would now know exactly when the next exercise would take place.

“To those who were not successful, our doors will open again, and sooner than before,” he assured.

The final list of successful candidates covers applicants from all 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory in line with the Federal Character principle.

Successful candidates are expected to proceed to the next stage of the process, which includes physical and medical screening ahead of final approval by the Customs Board.