CGC Adeniyi Bags IPRA Golden World Award, Earns Global Recognition

By Samuel Egbewole

The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adeniyi, has received a Special Award of Excellence at the 2026 International Public Relations Association (IPRA) Golden World Awards in Athens, Greece, in recognition of the Service’s strategic communication and stakeholder engagement efforts.

The recognition, according to a statement issued by the NCS spokesperson, Abdullahi Maiwada, on Sunday in Abuja, acknowledged the Service’s approach to transparent communication, stakeholder engagement and ethical public relations in supporting the implementation and public understanding of its ongoing reforms.

Maiwada said the recognition particularly covered initiatives aimed at modernising Customs operations, improving trade facilitation and strengthening institutional transparency.

Speaking on the honour, Adeniyi described it as an international recognition of the Service’s reform efforts, saying it would encourage the NCS to deepen its use of emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), in public communication and stakeholder engagement.

“We have started using AI tools in our public communication, and we view this recognition as an invitation to do more.”

“By 2027, we hope the NCS and more Nigerian agencies will feature prominently among global award recipients,” he said.

The Customs CG stressed that effective communication remained critical to the success of government reforms, noting that citizens and stakeholders needed to understand their objectives, implementation challenges and expected benefits. 

According to him, the NCS reform agenda aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies, particularly efforts to improve Nigeria’s trade competitiveness, facilitate exports and strengthen the country’s participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Adeniyi also celebrated Nigeria’s success at the IPRA Grand Prix, describing the achievement as an indication of the country’s growing participation in international strategic communication.

The Grand Prix was awarded to Image Merchants Promotion Limited (IMPR), publishers of PRNigeria and Economic Confidential, for its campaign, “AI for Crisis Communication: From Study to Strategy.”

The IPRA Golden World Awards are an annual international public relations awards programme established in 1990 to recognise excellence in public relations practice worldwide. IPRA says its awards recognise communication programmes based on factors including research, planning, execution and demonstrable results.