President Bola Tinubu has approved a six-month extension of the tenure of Adewale Adeniyi as Comptroller-General (CG) of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, disclosed this in a statement on Friday. He noted that Adeniyi’s previous tenure extension, granted in July 2025, was due to expire on August 1, 2026.
According to Onanuga, the new extension, which will run until February 2027, is intended to allow Adeniyi consolidate ongoing reforms, particularly the implementation of the National Single Window project, and ensure a smooth succession process within the service.
“During the transition period, Adeniyi, working with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Board, will ensure the promotion of eligible officers to the rank of Comptroller of Customs and the compulsory retirement of officers who have attained 60 years of age or have served 35 years,” the statement read.
Adeniyi joined the Nigeria Customs Service after graduating from Obafemi Awolowo University in the late 1980s. He rose through the ranks, becoming deputy comptroller in 2012, comptroller in 2017, assistant comptroller-general in 2020, and acting deputy comptroller-general in January 2023.
He was appointed Comptroller-General by President Tinubu in June 2023, initially in an acting capacity following the exit of his predecessor, Hameed Ali, and was confirmed as the substantive CG on October 19, 2023.
His original tenure was expected to end on August 31, 2025, upon completing 35 years of service. However, it was first extended by one year to August 2026 before the latest six-month extension.
The Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023 empowers the president to appoint a career officer not below the rank of assistant comptroller-general as CG but does not specify a fixed tenure.
Instead, the duration of service is guided by public service rules, which mandate retirement at 60 years of age or after 35 years of pensionable service, whichever comes first.