Following allegations that officers of Igbo extraction are sidelined and marginalized in the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Okey Ibeke examines the issues and gives an informed perspective on developments

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had on July 30, 2025 extended by one year, the tenure of the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Bashiru Adeniyi, MFR, which would have expired on August 31, 2025.

According to a release by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the one-year extension, valid until August 2026, was aimed at allowing Adeniyi to consolidate his modernisation reforms, oversee the full rollout of the National Single Window Project, and deliver on Nigeria’s trade commitments under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The release also said the President recognized Mr. Adeniyi’s steadfast leadership and commitment to service and was confident that the extension would further strengthen the Nigeria Customs Service in achieving its strategic mandate of trade facilitation, revenue generation, and border security.

Adeniyi is one of the lead facilitators of the Single Window Project, even before becoming the Comptroller-General.

It should also be noted that before Adeniyi’s tenure extension, President Tinubu had in 2025, extended the services of five management level officers of the service, whose expertise was still much needed and also to enable them enough time, to properly train their successors.

One of the officers is Assistant Comptroller General Kingsley Egwun, an Igbo man from Anambra State.

The news of Adeniyi’s tenure extension, was received with commendations by experts and stakeholders across many sectors of the nation’s economy, who were of the opinion it was a well-deserved recognition of Adeniyi’s sterling performance.

There was a consensus that Tinubu’s action, was not only strategic, but also a recognition of Adeniyi’s transformational leadership, especially in driving the Customs Modernisation Project, a fully technology-based initiative called B’Odogwu.

The deployment of the B’Odogwu software and the elevation of the ICT unit to a full department demonstrates a strategic shift toward homegrown innovation. These reforms which include introduction of Authorised Economic Operator; Advance Ruling System, Time Release Study, knowledge-based staff promotion and deployment with equitable geopolitical considerations and others too numerous to mention here, are not only making Customs operations faster and smarter, but are also driving significant improvements in trade facilitation, revenue generation and anti-smuggling operations.

The optimism of the experts, is that Adeniyi’s extended tenure will allow him consolidate on the progress made and contribute even more meaningfully to global Customs practices, especially in his current role as Chairman of the World Customs Organisation (WCO), the position he won on his personal merit as a result of his many years of participation in global trade policy formulation and implementation.

While experts and stakeholders are of the opinion that the extension was well deserved and strategic to realization of President Tinubu’s economic policies, certain people who thrive on fanning the embers of national disunity, in shameless dishonesty started spreading a false narrative that an officer was denied promotion to Comptroller-General, because she was of Igbo descent.

The said officer, Deputy Comptroller General (DCG) Nwafor B.U, who was falsely said to be next in rank to the CGC, was unjustly denied the opportunity to replace Adeniyi as Comptroller-General, just because she is Igbo.

The motive behind the reckless, toxic, spiteful and divisive allegation, was to create disaffection,  hatred and resentment among the Igbos against the federal government and President Tinubu.

It was also targeted at overstating the perceived marginalization of Igbos in the national scheme of things, thereby not only instigating the region against the government, but also pour additional fuel to the fire of criminal activities currently ravaging the region by misguided hooligans, who erroneously believe that they are fighting for Igbo emancipation.

The peddlers of this mischievous falsehood seemed to have achieved their dubious goal as many people of Igbo descent, did not only believe the lies, but started circulating the assumed injustice in almost all social media platforms, including WhatsApp groups.

The bitterness the falsehood created among the Igbos reached a level, that Ohaneze Nd’Igbo Worldwide, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization, had to issue a public statement wrongly condemning the extension.

The Ohanaeze Nd’Igbo, in a statement of the condemnation signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Ezechi Chukwu, described the extension as selective injustice, institutional unfairness, and a blatant display of nepotism over merit.

The statement read, “Ohanaeze Nd’Igbo Worldwide has expressed deep dissatisfaction with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over his tactful manoeuvre to deny Deputy Controller General of Customs (DCG) B. U. Nwafor from Anambra State her legitimate right of elevation to the rank of Comptroller General of Customs (CG).

“President Tinubu, granted a one-year tenure extension to the current Comptroller General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, who is already due for retirement, thereby shortchanging the next in line of succession, DCG B. U. Nwafor, whose retirement would be due in October 2026″

“With this reprehensible development, the next in hierarchy after Nwafor, DCG K.I. Adeola, is strategically positioned to take over from CG Adeniyi in 2026, rather than DCG Nwafor”

“Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide sees this selective injustice and a crown jewel of institutional unfairness, the height of favouritism, and an ultimate display of blatant nepotism over merit and social conscience”

“Can we continue to pretend that we are one people and one nation in the face of this canonical ethnic profiling?”

It is based on the bitterness generated by the falsehood among the Igbos, that called for a need to put the record straight, expose the antics of the enemies within and save the Igbos from harbouring the bitterness that was a product of falsehood.

For the record:
1. Present Tinubu did not sideline any Igbo officer, be it the said DCG B. U. Nwafor (Rtd) or any other officer of Igbo extraction at that, in extending Adeniyi’s tenure.

2. The said DCG B. U. Nwafor, according to her establishment submissions, was born on June 6, 1966 and joined Customs on 29th September, 1990. Going by this record, the officer, according to civil service rules, was statutorily supposed to proceed on pre- retirement leave on 22nd May, 2025 in preparation for her retirement on 29th August, 2025.

3. By the above record, DCG B. U. Nwafor was effectively out of service as at the time the falsehood of her sidelining was being peddled. She was supposed to have vacated her office and proceed on pre-retirement leave, but was still left in office courtesy of Nigeria Customs Service Board, which Chief Wale Edun, the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of Economy is Chairman and the Comptroller General, Wale Adeniyi, Deputy Chairman.

4. Apart from the issue of her service status, DCG B. U. Nwafor was at that time, not even the most senior officer and not in any way in line to succeed Adeniyi. There was DCG J. P. Ajoku (an Igbo officer) with service terminal date of 31st August, 2025; DCG Itoto G. A. – 15th October, 2025; DCG Mohammed A. B. – 31 August, 2025; and DCG Jibo B. M. – 31st August, 2025.

5. The allegation that the extension was done to pave the way for DCG Adeola K.I. to succeed Adeniyi, an officer that was purported to be next in rank to DCG Nwafor B. U., was also false. Adeola is not the most senior officer as there is DCG Niagwan C. K., who shares the same retirement date of 23rd December, 2026 as Adeola, but her senior by service number.

6. However, it should be noted that being a Deputy Comptroller General is not a parameter for being appointed Comptroller General. The Nigeria Customs Service 2023 Act, gave the President power to appoint any officer not below the rank of Assistant Comptroller General as Comptroller General of Customs. So, the allegation of paving way for DCG Adeola is neither here nor there and totally false.

7. Regarding the marginalization of Igbos in the Service, there was never a time Igbos enjoyed equity in staff deployments and promotions, more than the present administration of Adeniyi.

As at the time the mischievous elements were peddling the divisive falsehood, many Igbo officers were heading some of the most strategic commands and departments of the service, even DCG Nwafor was in charge of Excise, Industrial Incentives and all Free Trade Zones in the country. ACG Kingsley Egwu, who was supposed to have retired since February 2025, but had his service extended with one year, was heading Tariff Department in Headquarters. Then ACG Dera Nnadi was incharge of SR & P at the Headquarters.
Igbo officers were also heading these strategic commands and border stations – Tin Can Island Port Command (the first time in 22 years), Seme Border Command (first time in 25 years), Kebbi Border Command, Niger Border Command, Eastern Marine Command, Edo/Delta including Warri Port Command, Cross River (Calabar Port)/Akwa Ibom/Free Trade Zone Command

8. The Igbos also got their fair share of all ranks in the just released promotion of the service. At the management level, Igbos got one DCG out of 4 officers promoted, 3 ACG out of 11 promoted.

With these developments, it is clear that those behind the allegation of sidelining and marginalizing the Igbos in Nigeria Customs Service had sole agenda to use Igbos to achieve their political interests.

For Ohaneze Nd’Igbo, an organisation that rightly prides itself as the apex group for Igbos, the way and manner it waded into the issue is untidy and shows it lacks the mechanism for authenticating issues before making a pronouncement.

As an organisation that enjoys respected status as Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and Afenifere, it should have a due diligence policy in order to make its positions on national issues command the respect they deserve.

It should not allow itself to be sucked into the herd mentality. Again, it should be noted that Igboland, just like other parts of the country, is faced with peculiar challenges that calls for constructive and strategic engagement with the Federal Government to put the region on a sound footing.

The Customs under CGC Adeniyi has given Nd’Igbo the best deal ever.

Rather than rake up contentious but inaccurate allegations, President Tinubu and CGC Adeniyi should be applauded for giving Nd’Igbo the fair deal that had been denied it in the past.

Okey IBEKE is the Editor-in-Chief, Business and Maritime West Africa.