Stakeholders Urge Tinubu To Strengthen Customs Leadership Structure

The Arewa Youths Advocate for Good Governance, a political pressure group, has called on President Bola Tinubu to commence a strategic presidential intervention to guarantee stability in the leadership composition of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

The Youths, on Saturday, expressed fears over the imminent leadership vacuum that might exist in a short time. The national coordinator of the group, Adamu Muhammad Abdullahi, said that “impending leadership vacuum in Nigeria Customs Service” gives the group a concern while the nation is faced with border insecurity.

Abdullahi said the group has closely observed developments within the Service and is gravely worried by the imminent retirement of a “significant number” of senior management officers within that period.

“Nigeria is undertaking far-reaching economic reforms under the Renewed Hope Agenda. At such a delicate stage, institutions responsible for revenue generation, trade facilitation and border management need stability, policy continuity and experienced leadership,” the argued.

It in its view, The NCS has grown to be one of the Federal Government’s best revenue generating institutions. “It is also in the vanguard of fighting smuggling, securing Nigeria’s borders, easing legitimate trade and backing national security operations.”

The youth group said that simultaneous exit of several experienced management officers, without a carefully managed transition strategy, could create avoidable leadership gaps, disrupt institutional memory, slow ongoing modernisation programmes and affect operational efficiency at a time when Nigeria can least afford such uncertainty.

It called on the President to consider a strategic and legal intervention that will ensure stability within the Nigeria Customs Service and prevent the reversal of the significant gains made in recent years.
Such intervention, they say, may involve taking a phased approach to leadership transition, maintaining significant institutional expertise where legally allowed, and making sure that succession planning is aligned to the national interest rather than the administrative calendar alone.

“We’re not an advocacy group for people. “We are fighting for institutional continuity,” the group said.

“We therefore call on the Presidency, the National Security establishment, the Federal Ministry of Finance and other relevant stakeholders to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the potential implications of a mass leadership transition within the Service before irreversible decisions are made.

They commended President Tinubu’s commitment to institutional reforms and expressed optimism that the administration would continue to focus on decisions that strengthen the country’s economic structure and security architecture.