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The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has stepped up its leadership development drive with the inauguration of 100 officers at the Nigeria Customs Command and Staff College (NCCSC), Gwagwalada, in a move aimed at strengthening strategic capacity and institutional performance.
The cohort, inaugurated on Thursday, comprises 50 participants for Senior Course 14 and 50 for Junior Course 24. The programmes will run for six months and three months respectively.
Speaking at the ceremony held at Ahmad Makarfi Hall, the Commander of the Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), Deputy Comptroller-General Sulaiman Chiroma, said the initiative reflects the Service’s shift from routine operational efficiency to a more structured focus on strategic leadership and management.
Representing the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, DCG Chiroma noted that management has continued to invest in the Command and Staff College as a key platform for grooming future leaders and improving organisational effectiveness.
“These courses are no longer just academic exercises; they are central to career progression and leadership development in the Nigeria Customs Service,” he said, adding that participation in Command courses would increasingly become a prerequisite for promotion.
He described the selection of participants as deliberate and competitive, urging officers to see their nomination as both a privilege and a responsibility.
According to him, the training will prepare them to operate effectively in an increasingly complex security, trade and revenue environment.
“Modern Customs administration requires officers who are not only operationally sound but also strategically minded, with strong leadership, policy and decision-making skills,” Chiroma stressed.
In his remarks, the Commandant of NCCSC, Assistant Comptroller-General Dow Gaura, said the College remains a critical hub for capacity building and leadership training for middle-level managers of the Service.
He explained that the Command and Leadership Courses are designed to strengthen competencies in leadership, policy analysis, communication and inter-agency collaboration, positioning officers for higher responsibilities and more strategic roles within the Service.
“The objective is to produce officers who can drive reforms, improve service delivery and align Customs operations with national economic priorities,” Gaura said.
He charged participants to maintain high standards of discipline, professionalism and integrity, warning that the College operates a zero-tolerance policy on academic misconduct, including plagiarism and examination malpractice.
Gaura also assured the officers of quality mentorship from directing staff and encouraged them to balance academic work with sports and recreational activities for overall development.
With the formal declaration of the courses open, the 100 officers are now set to undergo intensive leadership and management training, expected to translate into stronger institutional capacity and a more business-focused, strategically driven Nigeria Customs Service.
