By Seun Ibiyemi
The Sea and Empowerment Research Centre (SEREC) has called for the entrenchment of a sustained professional governance structure in the Nigeria Customs Service to prevent institutional regression and preserve ongoing reforms.
The call was made in an executive brief issued in Abuja by SEREC’s Head of Research, Eugene Nweke, who noted that while the Customs Service has made significant progress in digital modernisation, revenue generation, enforcement, and stakeholder engagement, such gains remain vulnerable to leadership changes and policy inconsistency.
Nweke stressed that the transformation of the NCS into a modern trade facilitation agency would be better sustained under a career-driven leadership structure that ensures reforms are institutionalised rather than personality-driven.
He warned that past deviations from professional leadership models, particularly through non-specialist interventions, had exposed the service to policy disruptions and setbacks.
“To consolidate progress, Nigeria must reinforce a system where leadership emerges from within the service, institutional knowledge is preserved, and professional progression drives governance,” he said.
Nweke acknowledged the efforts of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, and his management team in advancing reforms and aligning operations with modernisation goals, but emphasised the need to embed these achievements for long-term sustainability.
He also highlighted the role of emerging customs officers, urging them to see themselves as custodians of institutional legacy and drivers of reform continuity, rather than mere implementers of directives.
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According to him, SEREC has proposed five key pillars to safeguard the gains recorded by the service.
These include policy continuity, irreversible digital transformation, preservation of institutional memory, stakeholder-focused governance, and merit-based professionalism.
Nweke further recommended legislative backing for ongoing reforms, accelerated implementation of the National Single Window project, and the establishment of independent reform audit mechanisms to ensure accountability.
He added that the reform model of the NCS should serve as a template for other government agencies, particularly in areas of digital transformation, policy consistency, and institutional accountability.
“The true test of reform is not initiation, but continuity. Nigeria cannot afford a return to policy reversals or institutional experimentation,” Nweke said.
