Customs to begin 2026 recruitment, announces 3,852 successful applicants

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has announced that it will now conduct recruitment exercises every year, ending the long-standing practice of recruiting personnel at irregular intervals.

Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed the new policy on Tuesday while briefing journalists at the Service Headquarters in Abuja during the presentation of the final list of successful candidates for the 2024/2025 recruitment exercise.

According to Adeniyi, the annual recruitment model is designed to improve workforce planning, ensure timely replacement of retiring officers and provide young Nigerians with regular opportunities to join the Service.

He explained that the NCS had abandoned the previous system under which recruitment exercises were held only after several years, leaving many applicants uncertain about when fresh vacancies would be announced.

“The Nigeria Customs Service is moving to an annual recruitment cycle. Recruitment will no longer be an occasional exercise conducted every few years. It will become a regular and predictable yearly process,” Adeniyi said.

He revealed that preparations for the 2026 recruitment exercise are already underway, adding that the next exercise is expected to commence later this year and be concluded within the same calendar year.

According to him, the lengthy duration of the 2024/2025 recruitment process resulted largely from the establishment of new recruitment systems and procedures that would support future exercises.

He said the Service invested considerable time in developing a comprehensive screening, verification and selection framework, stressing that subsequent recruitment exercises would be completed much faster because the necessary structures were now in place.

“The systems, screening architecture and verification processes built during this exercise now exist and will not need to be recreated. Much of the delay experienced in this cycle was the cost of building that framework, and that investment has now been made,” he stated.

Adeniyi noted that the new annual recruitment policy would enable the Service to proactively fill vacancies created by retirements and other exits instead of waiting until manpower shortages become critical.

He added that the initiative would also benefit job seekers by giving them certainty about future recruitment opportunities.

“An annual recruitment cycle benefits both the Service and applicants. It allows us to plan our workforce more effectively while giving unsuccessful applicants a clear idea of when the next opportunity will arise instead of waiting several years for another exercise,” he said.

The Comptroller-General also announced the successful conclusion of the 2024/2025 recruitment exercise, revealing that 3,852 candidates had been offered appointments into the Service.

He said 1,275 candidates were recruited into the Superintendent Cadre, 367 into the Inspectorate Cadre, while 2,210 secured appointments in the Customs Assistant Cadre.

The recruitment exercise attracted thousands of applications from Nigerians seeking employment in the paramilitary agency.

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