The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) on Tuesday concluded one of its most competitive recruitment exercises ever, selecting only 3,852 candidates from a staggering 573,680 applications, while announcing a major shift to annual recruitment beginning later this year.
The outcome means fewer than one per cent of applicants secured employment, with the Service describing the process as rigorous and merit-driven.
Speaking at the release of the final list in Abuja, Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, apologised for the delay in concluding the 2024/2025 exercise, attributing it to the unprecedented volume of applications and extensive verification processes designed to ensure transparency.
Adeniyi said the successful candidates comprise 1,275 officers in the Superintendent Cadre, 367 in the Inspectorate Cadre and 2,210 in the Customs Assistant Cadre, with every state of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory represented.
He explained that applicants were subjected to multiple layers of screening, including computer-based examinations, credential verification and identity checks against the national database before the final list was approved.
According to him, successful candidates will still undergo physical and medical examinations before receiving final clearance from the Nigeria Customs Service Board.
Highlighting the intense competition, Adeniyi disclosed that the Inspectorate Cadre was the toughest category, with 128,604 applicants competing for just 367 positions—about one successful candidate for every 350 applicants.
He assured unsuccessful candidates that many met the recruitment requirements but could not be accommodated because of the limited vacancies.
In what he described as a landmark reform, the Customs boss announced that the Service would now recruit every year instead of waiting several years between exercises.
He said the 2026 recruitment exercise would open later this year, giving unsuccessful applicants another opportunity within months rather than years.
Adeniyi also disclosed that 839 women were among those recruited, accounting for 21.8 per cent of the successful candidates, while noting that the new intake has a median age of 26 years, reflecting the Service’s drive to build a younger workforce equipped for technology-driven customs administration.
He reiterated that recruitment into the Service is free of charge and warned applicants to ignore anyone demanding money in exchange for employment, urging victims to report such individuals to the authorities.