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The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has again earned international recognition for its communication and stakeholder engagement, as Comptroller-General of Customs Adewale Adeniyi received a Special Award of Excellence at the 2026 International Public Relations Association (IPRA) Golden World Awards in Athens, Greece, on Friday, September 25.
The award honours the Service’s transparent communication, stakeholder engagement and ethical public relations practices in support of its ongoing reforms, particularly efforts to modernise Customs operations, improve trade facilitation and strengthen institutional transparency.
Receiving the recognition, Adeniyi described it as an international endorsement of the NCS reform agenda, saying it would spur the Service to deepen its use of emerging technologies, especially artificial intelligence, in public communication and stakeholder engagement.
“We have started using AI tools in our public communication, and we view this recognition as an invitation to do more. By 2027, we hope the NCS and more Nigerian agencies will feature prominently among global award recipients,” he said.
He said effective communication remained central to the success of government reforms, since citizens and stakeholders needed to understand their objectives, implementation challenges and expected benefits.
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He added that the NCS reform agenda aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic policies, particularly efforts to boost Nigeria’s trade competitiveness, facilitate exports and strengthen the country’s participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Adeniyi also celebrated Nigeria’s win of the IPRA Grand Prix, describing it as a sign of the country’s growing footprint in international strategic communication. The Grand Prix went to Image Merchants Promotion Limited (IMPR), publishers of PRNigeria and Economic Confidential, for its campaign “AI for Crisis Communication: From Study to Strategy.”
The campaign grew out of a research project led by IMPR’s Chief Executive Officer, Yushau Shuaib, in collaboration with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Centre for Crisis Communication. It examined the growing challenges of AI-driven misinformation, deepfakes and digital information disorder, and translated its findings into a strategic communication initiative.
In her welcome remarks, IPRA President Esther Cobbah said the return to Athens carried special significance, as it was where the association developed its Code of Conduct for public relations practice 60 years ago. She noted that the 2026 gathering offered an opportunity to celebrate individuals, agencies and organisations that had upheld ethical communication while delivering excellence in their work.
“Sixty years ago, in Athens, we built the code of ethics for public relations practice. Today, we have come back to Athens to see how we have deployed those ethics in our work,” she said.
