LA SUITE APRÈS LA PUBLICITÉ

The Nigeria Customs Service – NCS has finalized plans to retire 1,516 officers across the country over the next two years, following the release of statutory retirement lists. Disclosed in two restricted circulars signed by the Comptroller of Establishment, A.A.

Bazuaye, the exercise will see 825 officers disengage from active service in 2026, followed by another 691 officers in 2027. In compliance with the Public Service Rules, all affected personnel are required to proceed on a three-month pre-retirement leave ahead of their effective retirement dates, though the Service has given officers until July 31, 2026, to lodge complaints regarding any errors or omissions in the 2027 draft list.

A detailed breakdown of the retirement schedule reveals that mid-level cadres will bear the brunt of the upcoming exits. In 2026, the Deputy Superintendent of Customs cadre accounts for the highest number of departures with 285 officers, closely followed by the Superintendent of Customs cadre with 226 officers. For the 2027 exercise, the Superintendent of Customs cadre takes the lead with 200 scheduled retirements, alongside 193 Deputy Superintendents. The sweeping retirement wave will also impact top-tier management, including several Assistant Comptrollers-General and Deputy Comptrollers-General across both years.

This major personnel shift comes right on the heels of President Bola Tinubu approving a fresh six-month tenure extension for the Comptroller-General of the NCS, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi. The extension keeps the Customs boss in his role until February 2027, building upon a previous one-year extension granted before his original tenure was set to expire in August 2025.

According to the Presidency, this additional time is explicitly intended to allow Adeniyi to complete critical institutional reforms, most notably the implementation of the National Single Window project, while managing a stable and seamless leadership transition.

As part of this mandated transition process, Adeniyi is tasked with collaborating with the Nigeria Customs Service Board to resolve outstanding personnel matters and oversee the promotion of qualified officers to the rank of Comptroller. Officials have moved to quell any administrative anxiety, with the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise, Abejide Leke Joseph, reassuring stakeholders that the massive rollout of retirements is a routine statutory exercise.

He emphasized that the scheduled departures are strictly bound to public service rules regarding age or length of service and are entirely disconnected from any political speculation surrounding the appointment of a future Comptroller-General.