The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has received international recognition for its strategic communication and stakeholder engagement efforts, with the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, receiving a Special Award of Excellence at the 2026 International Public Relations Association (IPRA) Golden World Awards in Athens, Greece. The award acknowledges the Service's approach to transparent communication, stakeholder engagement, and ethical public relations in supporting the implementation and public understanding of its ongoing reforms.
The IPRA Golden World Awards, held on Friday, 25 September 2026, recognized the NCS's initiatives aimed at modernizing Customs operations, improving trade facilitation, and strengthening institutional transparency. The award is a testament to the Service's efforts to deepen its adoption of emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, in public communication and stakeholder engagement. This recognition is expected to encourage the NCS to continue leveraging technology to enhance its communication and engagement strategies.
Receiving the recognition, CGC Adeniyi described the honour as international acknowledgement of the Nigeria Customs Service's reform efforts. He noted that the award would further encourage the Service to adopt emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, in public communication and stakeholder engagement. The NCS has started using AI tools in its public communication and views this recognition as an invitation to do more.
CGC Adeniyi emphasized that effective communication remained critical to the success of government reforms. He stated that citizens and stakeholders needed to understand the objectives, implementation challenges, and expected benefits of reforms. The NCS reform agenda aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's economic policies, particularly efforts to improve Nigeria's trade competitiveness, facilitate exports, and strengthen the country's participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The NCS's achievement was celebrated as an indication of Nigeria's growing participation in international strategic communication. The country also won the IPRA Grand Prix, awarded to Image Merchants Promotion Limited (IMPR), publishers of PRNigeria and Economic Confidential, for its campaign, AI for Crisis Communication: From Study to Strategy. The campaign was a research project led by IMPR's Chief Executive Officer, Yushau Shuaib, in collaboration with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Centre for Crisis Communication.
The President of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA), Esther Cobbah, stated that the return to Athens was particularly significant because the city was where the association developed its Code of Conduct for public relations practice 60 years ago. The IPRA Golden World Awards is a prestigious recognition of outstanding public relations practices globally.
The Nigeria Customs Service's recognition at the IPRA Golden World Awards is a significant achievement, and CGC Adeniyi hopes that by 2027, the NCS and more Nigerian agencies will feature prominently among global award recipients. The award is expected to encourage the NCS to continue its efforts in modernizing Customs operations and improving trade facilitation.
Key points
- The Nigeria Customs Service received the IPRA Golden Award for its strategic communication and stakeholder engagement efforts.
- The award recognizes the NCS's approach to transparent communication, stakeholder engagement, and ethical public relations.
- The recognition is expected to encourage the NCS to deepen its adoption of emerging technologies in public communication and stakeholder engagement.
