CUSTOMS RELEASES FINAL 2024/2025 RECRUITMENT LIST, SELECTS 3,852 FROM 573,680 APPLICANTS
Customs Releases Final 2024/2025 Recruitment List, Selects 3,852 from 573,680 Applicants
By Babatunde Aremu
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has released the final list of successful candidates for its 2024/2025 recruitment exercise, with 3,852 applicants selected from a total of 573,680 applications received nationwide.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, announced the development during a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, describing the exercise as one of the most transparent and competitive recruitment processes conducted by the Service.
According to him, the successful candidates are spread across three cadres, with 1,275 recruited into the Superintendent Cadre, 367 into the Inspectorate Cadre, and 2,210 into the Customs Assistant Cadre. He noted that the recruitment exercise, which commenced in December 2024, has now been concluded with the release of the final list.
Adeniyi apologized for the delay in concluding the process, explaining that the exceptionally high number of applications and the need to fill vacancies created by retirements in the senior cadre contributed to the extended timeline.
“Every candidate on this list has passed through several layers of scrutiny, including application screening, computer-based examination, and verification of credentials against the national identity database,” he said.
The Customs boss
disclosed that the overall success rate stood at just 0.67 per cent, meaning only about one out of every 148 applicants secured a place. He added that the Inspectorate Cadre was the most competitive, with one successful candidate for every 350 applicants, followed by the Superintendent Cadre at one in 217, while the Customs Assistant Cadre recorded one successful candidate for every 76 applicants.
On the distribution of successful candidates, Adeniyi said all 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) were represented. Each state received 105 slots, comprising 35 Superintendent positions, 10 Inspectorate positions and 60 Customs Assistant positions, while the FCT was allocated 72 slots.
“Not one place was allocated at the discretion of any officer. The Federal Character principle has been applied in full,” he stated.
The Comptroller-General further revealed that women secured 839 positions, representing 21.8 per cent of the total intake, slightly higher than their 21.2 per cent share of the total applications received. He added that the median age of successful candidates is 26 years, with nearly 75 per cent of them below the age of 30.
In a major policy shift, Adeniyi announced that the Nigeria Customs Service would henceforth conduct recruitment exercises annually.
“The 2026 Recruitment Exercise will open later this year, and it is my firm intention that it will be completed within a single calendar year,” he said.
He added that all successful candidates would be contacted directly by the Service and warned applicants to disregard anyone demanding payment or promising employment, stressing that recruitment into the Nigeria Customs Service remains entirely free of charge.
