Nigeria Customs Wins Commonwealth Gold Award for ‘Customs Cares’ CSR Initiative
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has earned international recognition after its flagship Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme, Customs Cares, won the Commonwealth Environment and CSR Gold Award at a ceremony held in Glasgow, Scotland, on July 31, 2026.
The prestigious award recognises organisations implementing measurable, sustainable and community-driven initiatives that advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The NCS emerged as a winner for the far-reaching impact of its Customs Cares programme in education, healthcare, food security and environmental sustainability across Nigeria.
Receiving the award on behalf of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, the Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection, Timi Bomodi, described the recognition as a major milestone in the Service’s ongoing transformation.
“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,” Bomodi said.
Adeniyi attributed the international honour to the policy direction of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, noting that the Customs Cares initiative has positively impacted more than 10 million Nigerians across 12 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
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According to him, the programme has delivered wide-ranging interventions, including the renovation of schools, healthcare projects, provision of clean water, food support for vulnerable communities and the implementation of the Green Borders Initiative aimed at promoting environmental sustainability.
“Beyond every classroom renovated, every borehole commissioned and every tree planted is something even more enduring—trust,” the Comptroller-General said.
Also speaking at the event, the Governor of Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya, Muthomi Njuki, underscored the importance of global collaboration in tackling environmental challenges.
He said no nation could address climate change alone, stressing that accountability, partnerships, innovation and shared responsibility remain critical to building a greener, safer and more prosperous world.
The Comptroller in charge of Corporate Social Responsibility, Mbwiduffu Ibrahim, described the award as an encouragement for the Service to deepen its community development efforts.
“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 of the awards disclosed that the Nigeria Customs Service received the Gold Award in recognition of its innovative Hub-and-Spoke Community Activation Model, which has enhanced the delivery of social intervention projects across communities.
They noted that the recognition further reinforces the Nigeria Customs Service’s growing reputation as a modern customs administration committed not only to revenue generation, trade facilitation and border security, but also to sustainable development and community empowerment.
By PRNigeria
