No vacancy for Customs CG position – Asu Beks makes case for Adeniyi’s tenure extension

Maritime expert and Converner of Maritime Elders’ Forum , Elder Asu Beks has joined the growing list of prominent industry stakeholders to advocate for an extension of the tenure of the Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, citing his exceptional performance.

Adeniyi, who was appointed October 19 2023 will clock 60 years in January 2026 and as with presidential appointees, like those in the public service, he is expected to retire at 60 or after 35 years of service.

Speaking in an interview with Sunday Sun at the Weekend, Beks stated that considering Adeniyi’s sterling performance , he should be giving special consideration to continue his tenure in office.

Beks highlighted reforms in the NCS under Adeniyi’s leadership including improved revenue generation, trade facilitation, anti smuggling, as well as robust stakeholders engagement.

According to him, Adeniyi’s leadership style has also changed the bad perception people had about Customs.

He said “You see, I’ve covered the maritime sector from my days in Concord, as a pioneer shipping editor in the Concord Newspapers. So I’ve been in this sector for a very long time, and I can tell you that I am yet to see a Comptroller-General of Customs that will match the commitment of Adewale Adeniyi. Yes, we had a Dikko who died a couple of years ago. Dikko was from Katsina State. He did wonderfully well but what Adeniyi has done in terms of reforms, in terms of capacity building, in terms of stakeholders’ engagement, in terms of anti-smuggling, in terms of trade facilitation, in terms of revenue generation, whatever bad perception people had about Nigeria Customs Service before now, has changed because of his style of leadership.”

Beks also pointed to the New Customs Act, which reportedly provides for a single tenure for the CG. He expressed confidence in President Tinubu’s willingness to extend Adeniyi’s stay, citing the precedent set with the Inspector General of Police whose tenure was extended through legislative action.

“And so, now we have a new Customs Act, which he inherited, and under the Act, we are made to understand that the CG has just a one-tenure. The Tinubu that I know is not somebody who will want to change a winning team and if he can do that for the Inspector General of Police, there’s no reason he can’t do the same thing for the Customs CG.

“In the case of the Inspector General of Police, he went to the National Assembly and got that extension. It was not a presidential fiat, was it? So, there’s no reason why he won’t do the same thing because Wale has done so well, ” he said.

Beks cautioned against a change in leadership, expressing concerns that a new appointee might undo Adeniyi’s achievements

“This is because if you remove Adeniyi today, we don’t know who is going to come. The person will rubbish all the good works that Adeniyi has done.

“In fact, that is why if you look at the average APC man today, they want Tinubu to continue beyond 2027 because as far as they are concerned, Tinubu is doing very well and if you now go and bring another person, he may destroy what they think are the good works of Mr President. And that is why the party endorsed him, saying there is no vacancy. So, as far as I, Asu Beks, the convener of Maritime Elders’ Forum, is concerned, there is no vacancy in the Customs House, ” he said.