Customs and the World’s Biggest PR Gathering
By Abdulsalam Mahmud
For an institution traditionally associated with borders, cargo inspections and revenue collection, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) may seem an unlikely participant in the world of public relations. Yet that perception is changing as Customs increasingly recognises communication as part of how modern institutions build trust and explain reform.
That is why the agency’s support for the 2026 World Public Relations Forum (WPRF) carries significance beyond its participation in another international event. It places Customs within a global conversation about communication, institutional reputation and public confidence.
This year’s WPRF is scheduled to hold in Abuja from November 15 to 21, 2026, under the theme, “Responsible Communication: The Voice of the World.” Hosted by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) in partnership with the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management, the forum is expected to bring together communication professionals, policymakers, academics and other stakeholders from around the world.
Representatives of the Global Alliance’s 126 member countries are expected to participate. The choice of Nigeria is itself significant. WPRF was first held in Paris in 2007, and according to NIPR President Dr. Ike Neliaku, no African country had hosted the gathering for the following 19 years.
Nigeria eventually won the hosting bid in March 2025 and defended its readiness before the Global Alliance in Venice three months later. The 2026 edition will also bring the WPRF and the African Public Relations Association Conference together on the continent for the first time.
For Nigeria, therefore, the forum is more than a professional gathering. It offers an opportunity to present the country directly to an international audience through its institutions, professionals, culture and ideas. NIPR has described the event as an opportunity to showcase Nigeria’s capacity and reshape how the country is understood beyond familiar international narratives.
With thousands of delegates expected, the attention will inevitably extend beyond public relations itself. It is against this backdrop that the Nigeria Customs has thrown its weight behind the forum. Comptroller-General of Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi pledged the agency’s support when a delegation led by Global Alliance President and CEO Professor Justin Green and Dr. Neliaku visited the Customs House in Abuja on September 22.
The engagement formed part of wider consultations with institutions and stakeholders ahead of the November gathering. Adeniyi’s interest in the forum is closely connected to the changes taking place within Customs. The agency is implementing reforms such as B’Odogwu, the Authorised Economic Operator programme and Advance Ruling, all aimed at making customs processes more predictable and improving engagement with legitimate businesses.
Such reforms require more than technology and new procedures. They also require communication that allows traders, businesses and the wider public to understand what is changing and why. That is where public relations becomes more than publicity.
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When an institution introduces a new digital platform, changes procedures or strengthens enforcement, poor communication can create confusion even where the underlying reform is sound. Effective communication, on the other hand, can help institutions explain policy, manage expectations and build confidence among the people affected by their decisions.
Adeniyi specifically highlighted this role of communication in supporting institutional reforms. Customs is already operating in an environment where public perception matters. Every seizure, clearance process, border operation or policy change can generate questions from traders, businesses and citizens.
The agency therefore has to communicate not only when there is a crisis but also when it is implementing reforms that may not immediately be visible to the public. Its growing emphasis on digital transformation, trade facilitation and stakeholder engagement makes the communication function increasingly important.
The B’Odogwu platform offers one example of this changing landscape. Customs has described the system as part of its broader trade modernisation and digital transformation efforts, alongside programmes such as Authorised Economic Operator and Advance Ruling.
These initiatives are intended to improve the efficiency and predictability of trade processes. But technology only delivers its full value when users understand the systems, trust them and know how to engage with them. The 2026 WPRF consequently arrives at an interesting moment for Customs.
The agency is not attending simply as a government institution seeking visibility at an international gathering. It is entering a forum whose central theme, responsible communication, connects directly with the challenge of explaining institutional reforms to different audiences.
For Customs, the conversation can provide an opportunity to exchange ideas with communication professionals from different countries while also presenting its own experience. Prof. Green has described Nigeria’s hosting of the forum as an opportunity to showcase the country’s cultural heritage, communication industry and innovative approaches to public relations.
The presence of institutions such as Customs gives that story another dimension. It allows international delegates to see how communication intersects with trade, public administration, technology and institutional reform. In that sense, Customs becomes part of the wider Nigerian story the organisers hope to present to the world.
When the 2026 WPRF opens in Abuja in November, the attention will naturally be on communication professionals and the global conversations taking place around responsible communication. But behind the gathering will also be institutions such as the Nigeria Customs, which increasingly has to communicate in a world where borders, technology, trade and public expectations are constantly changing.
Its decision to support the forum reflects that reality. For Customs, the gathering is not simply about public relations; it is about understanding how communication can help a modern institution earn trust while telling the story of its reforms.
Mahmud, Deputy Editor of PRNigeria, wrote in via: [email protected].
