- Odibo Victory
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has received international recognition after its flagship Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, Customs Cares, won the Commonwealth Environment and CSR Gold Award in Glasgow, Scotland, on Friday.
The award, recognises organisations implementing measurable, sustainable and community-driven projects that advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
According to the NCS, the Customs Cares initiative was recognised for its impact in education, healthcare, food security and environmental sustainability across communities in Nigeria.
Receiving the award on behalf of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection, Timi Bomodi, described the recognition as a major milestone in the Service’s ongoing transformation.
He said, “This award is both humbling and inspiring. It affirms our belief that public institutions create their greatest value not only by fulfilling their statutory mandates, but by improving lives and strengthening the communities they serve.”
Adeniyi attributed the recognition to President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, noting that the Customs Cares initiative has reached more than 10 million Nigerians across 12 states and the Federal Capital Territory through school renovation projects, healthcare interventions, clean water initiatives, food support programmes and the Green Borders Initiative.
“Beyond every classroom renovated, every borehole commissioned and every tree planted is something even more enduring; trust,” he said.
Also speaking at the event, the Governor of Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya, Muthomi Njuki, stressed the importance of global collaboration in tackling climate change.
He said no country could address the climate crisis alone, adding that accountability, partnerships, innovation and shared responsibility were essential to building a greener, safer and more prosperous world.
The Comptroller in charge of CSR, Mbwiduffu Ibrahim, said the international recognition would encourage the Service to strengthen its community-focused interventions.
“For a long time, we worked believing that the impact in our communities was reward enough. Today, this international recognition tells us that those efforts have not gone unnoticed,” she said.
The organisers said the NCS earned the award for its innovative Hub-and-Spoke Community Activation Model, adding that the recognition reinforces the agency’s reputation as a modern customs administration committed to revenue generation, trade facilitation, border security and sustainable development.