By: Goodluck E.Adubazi, Abuja.
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has received international recognition after its flagship Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, Customs Cares, won the Commonwealth Environment and CSR Gold Award in Glasgow, Scotland.
The award, presented on Friday, July 31, 2026, recognises organisations implementing measurable, sustainable and community-driven interventions that contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Nigeria Customs Service emerged winner for its innovative Hub-and-Spoke Community Activation Model, which has delivered interventions in education, healthcare, food security, clean water and environmental sustainability across the country.
Receiving the award on behalf of the Comptroller-General of Customs, , 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 transformation journey.
Bomodi said the award affirmed the Service’s commitment to creating value beyond its statutory responsibilities by improving lives and strengthening communities.
“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,” he said.
Adeniyi attributed the international recognition to the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and its Renewed Hope Agenda, noting that Customs Cares had so far reached more than 10 million Nigerians across 12 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to him, the initiative has supported school renovations, healthcare projects, clean water provision, food assistance and the Green Borders Initiative.
“Beyond every classroom renovated, every borehole commissioned and every tree planted is something even more enduring; trust,” Adeniyi said.
The Governor of Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya, Muthomi Njuki, while speaking on climate action and international partnerships, stressed the need for collective responsibility in addressing global environmental challenges.
He said no country could tackle the crisis alone, stressing that accountability, partnership, innovation and shared responsibility remained essential to building a greener, safer and more prosperous world.
Also speaking, the Comptroller in charge of CSR, Mbwiduffu Ibrahim, said the international recognition would motivate the Service to expand its interventions and deepen its engagement with communities.
“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,” Ibrahim said.
The organisers said the award further reinforces the Nigeria Customs Service’s emerging 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.
The recognition places Customs Cares among internationally acknowledged initiatives demonstrating how public institutions can combine their core mandates with meaningful social and environmental interventions.
