Customs releases final list of 3,852 successful candidates, introduces annual recruitment

By Adebola Isimijola, Lagos

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has released the final list of 3,852 successful candidates for its 2024/2025 recruitment exercise and announced that recruitment into the Service will now be conducted annually to ensure a more predictable and efficient employment process.

The Comptroller-General of Customs made the announcement on Tuesday during a press briefing, saying the successful candidates comprise 1,275 in the Superintendent Cadre, 367 in the Inspectorate Cadre and 2,210 in the Customs Assistant Cadre, bringing to an end the recruitment exercise that commenced in December 2024.

The Comptroller-General attributed the delay in concluding the exercise to the overwhelming number of applications received, extensive verification procedures and administrative challenges arising from the retirement of senior officers, while assuring applicants that the integrity of the process was never compromised.

He apologised to applicants and their families for the prolonged wait, saying the Service received 573,680 applications for only 3,852 vacancies, all of which had to undergo rigorous screening, computer-based examinations and verification against the national identity database.

“This exercise has taken longer than any of us intended. On behalf of the Service, I offer my sincere apologies to every applicant who has waited, and to the parents and guardians who waited with them,” he said.

According to him, the final list reflects merit, transparency and fairness, stressing that every successful candidate earned a place after passing through several stages of assessment.

“The list I place before you today is one I am prepared to defend on its merits, and the standards the Service set for itself at the beginning of this process are the standards that produced it,” he stated.

The Comptroller-General said the exercise was highly competitive, with only about one candidate selected out of every 148 applicants, noting that many unsuccessful applicants met the requirements but could not be accommodated because of the limited vacancies.

He urged those who were not selected not to lose hope, assuring them that another opportunity would come sooner than expected as the Service had adopted an annual recruitment cycle.

Under the new policy, he disclosed that the 2026 recruitment exercise would commence later this year and would be completed within a single calendar year, from advertisement to the release of the final list.

According to him, the annual recruitment system will enable the Service to plan its manpower requirements more effectively, fill vacancies created by retirements on time and provide qualified Nigerians with regular opportunities to join the organisation.

The Comptroller-General also disclosed that all 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory were represented in the recruitment in line with the Federal Character principle, while women accounted for 839 successful candidates, representing 21.8 per cent of the total intake.

He added that the successful candidates have a median age of 26 years, with nearly three-quarters of them below the age of 30, describing the intake as a youthful workforce capable of driving the Service’s modernisation agenda.

The Customs boss advised successful candidates to await official communication through the contact details provided during their applications and warned them against dealing with fraudsters.

“Recruitment into the Nigeria Customs Service is free. No candidate has paid, and no candidate should pay, any person or group for a place on this list. Anyone who solicits payment on our behalf is a criminal and should be reported,” he warned.

Congratulating the successful applicants, the Comptroller-General urged them to uphold the core values and professional standards of the Nigeria Customs Service, while assuring unsuccessful candidates that another recruitment exercise would commence later this year under the new annual recruitment policy.