The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has earned international recognition after its flagship Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, Customs Cares, won the Commonwealth Environment and CSR Gold Award in Glasgow, Scotland.
The award, presented on Friday, July 31, 2026, honours organisations implementing measurable, sustainable and community-driven initiatives that advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Customs Cares was recognised for its far-reaching impact in education, healthcare, food security and environmental sustainability across Nigeria.
Receiving the award on behalf of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, the Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection, Timi Bomodi, described the honour as a major milestone in the Service’s ongoing transformation.
He said the recognition affirms the NCS’ belief that public institutions create their greatest value not only by delivering on their statutory responsibilities but also by improving lives and strengthening the communities they serve.
According to Bomodi, “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 international recognition to the successful implementation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda through the Customs Cares initiative.
He disclosed that the programme has positively impacted more than 10 million Nigerians across 12 states and the Federal Capital Territory through school renovation projects, healthcare interventions, provision of clean water, 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,” the Comptroller-General stated.
Also speaking at the event, the Governor of Tharaka Nithi County in Kenya, Muthomi Njuki, stressed the importance of global collaboration in tackling climate change, noting that no nation could address the challenge alone. He said accountability, innovation, partnerships and shared responsibility remain essential to building a greener, safer and more prosperous world.
The Comptroller in charge of Corporate Social Responsibility, Mbwiduffu Ibrahim, said the award would inspire the Service to deepen its community 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 noted that the Nigeria Customs Service received the Gold Award for its innovative Hub-and-Spoke Community Activation Model, adding that the recognition further reinforces the Service’s reputation as a modern Customs administration committed to revenue generation, trade facilitation, border security and sustainable national development.
