The Nigeria Customs Service on Tuesday released the final list of successful candidates for its 2024/2025 recruitment, with only 3,852 applicants securing places out of 573,680 people who applied for the available positions.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, who announced the release of the list during a press briefing in Abuja, said the recruitment recorded one of the highest levels of competition in the history of the service, with just 0.67 per cent of applicants making the final selection.
Adeniyi explained that the successful candidates were selected across the three entry cadres of the service, comprising 1,275 candidates for the Superintendent Cadre, 367 for the Inspectorate Cadre and 2,210 for the Customs Assistant Cadre.
According to him, the announcement marked the conclusion of a recruitment process that began in December 2024 and was delayed by the huge number of applications, administrative challenges and the need to ensure a transparent selection process.
He also announced a major shift in the Service’s recruitment policy, saying future recruitment exercises would be conducted annually instead of at irregular intervals.
Adeniyi said the decision was part of efforts to create a predictable manpower planning system that would enable the service to replace retiring officers promptly while giving young Nigerians regular opportunities to join the organisation.
According to him, the service had now moved away from a recruitment model under which applicants had to wait several years before another opportunity became available.
He explained that the new structure would make recruitment a continuous process, with the 2026 exercise expected to commence later this year.
Adeniyi pointed out that the Customs Service now has the systems, screening framework and verification processes required to conduct future recruitment exercises more efficiently.
He attributed the lengthy process experienced during the 2024/2025 recruitment exercise was largely due to the need to establish a robust recruitment architecture capable of supporting future exercises but said the Service had invested time and resources in building the framework and subsequent recruitment exercises would benefit from the structures already put in place.
Adeniyi said the annual recruitment model would benefit both the service and prospective applicants by improving workforce planning and reducing uncertainty among young Nigerians seeking employment.
He explained that the approach would enable the service to anticipate manpower gaps arising from retirements and other exits instead of waiting until shortages occur before recruiting, adding that the new system would also provide clarity for unsuccessful applicants by allowing them to prepare for future opportunities without prolonged uncertainty.
