NCS announces annual recruitment exercise, says successful candidates emerged through a transparent and merit-based process.
The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has released the final list of successful candidates for its 2024/2025 recruitment exercise, announcing that 3,852 applicants were selected from 573,680 applications received nationwide.
Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, made the announcement on Tuesday, revealing that the successful candidates were recruited into the Superintendent, Inspectorate and Customs Assistant cadres, with all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory represented.
Adeniyi apologised for the delay in concluding the recruitment process, explaining that the large volume of applications, extensive verification procedures and staff turnover within the Service contributed to the extended timeline. He said every successful candidate passed through multiple stages, including application screening, computer-based examinations and identity verification, adding that physical and medical screenings, as well as a final board review, would follow.
He maintained that the exercise was transparent, merit-based and free of external influence, assuring applicants that the final list was produced strictly on the basis of established standards.
According to the Customs boss, the competition was highly intense, with only 0.67 per cent of applicants securing employment. He noted that the Inspectorate Cadre was the most competitive, followed by the Superintendent Cadre, while the Customs Assistant Cadre recorded the highest number of available vacancies.
Adeniyi encouraged unsuccessful applicants not to lose hope, stressing that many qualified candidates could not be accommodated because of the limited number of vacancies. He disclosed that the Service would now conduct recruitment annually, with the next exercise scheduled to commence later this year.
He said the recruitment reflected Nigeria’s federal character, with equal allocation of positions to all states, while the Federal Capital Territory received its allocation based on the approved formula. He added that women accounted for 839 of the successful candidates, representing 21.8 per cent of the intake, slightly above their share of total applications.
The Comptroller-General further revealed that most successful candidates are under 30 years of age, describing the youthful workforce as critical to the Service’s long-term transformation, particularly in technology-driven customs operations.
Adeniyi assured that successful candidates would be contacted directly through the details provided during registration and urged applicants to rely only on official Customs communication channels. He also warned members of the public against paying money to anyone for recruitment, describing anyone demanding payment on behalf of the Service as a fraudster who should be reported to security agencies.