Customs’ ₦70bn CSR Commitment: CGC Adeniyi Explains The Push Nationwide

By Victoria Isaac

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has committed about ₦70 billion to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) interventions nationwide, with Comptroller-General Bashir Adewale Adeniyi identifying education and critical infrastructure gaps among the major areas to receive attention.

Adeniyi disclosed this on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, while speaking with journalists on the sidelines of the commissioning ceremony of the renovated Ife Girls’ High School in Ile-Ife, Osun State.

He said the interventions were driven by the need to complement public efforts in addressing infrastructure deficiencies and creating better conditions for educational advancement and other areas of socioeconomic development.

“It is a challenge for all of us, and we have to take that as a responsibility. It is practically impossible for the government to do it all alone”

The Comptroller-General explained that the Service had identified educational facilities across different parts of the country where targeted interventions could improve learning conditions and make education more attractive to younger Nigerians.

*L-R: Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, and Acting Customs Area Controller of the Oyo/Osun Command, Deputy Comptroller Moses Wale Adewole, at the commissioning ceremony on Monday.

At Ife Girls High School, the Customs intervention included the rehabilitation of four classroom blocks, a laboratory building, a staff building and the principal’s lodge.

The project, undertaken at the 60-year-old school, was also positioned as part of efforts to strengthen girl-child education by providing female students with a more conducive environment for learning.

“The level of decay before our intervention in Ife Girls High School was appalling. A practical example was when we entered the laboratory where we pursued squirrels and snakes before we could gain access. This is because the whole place was bushy”

Adeniyi said the condition of some facilities at the school illustrated the scale of infrastructure challenges confronting public education institutions.

“The level of decay before our intervention in Ife Girls High School was appalling. A practical example was when we entered the laboratory, where we pursued squirrels and snakes before we could gain access. This is because the whole place was bushy.

“It was quite a huge amount that we have expended on the projects. I am happy that, for the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the Nigeria Customs Service, we are committed to donating a quarter of our yearly salary to these projects.

“Last year, our budget for CSR from January up til now for these interventions was in the region of N70 billion and from there we are able to commit what we have done in this school. You are all products of one school or the other, and you don’t want to get to your school and see the level of infrastructural decay we met in this school.”

“It is a challenge for all of us, and we have to take that as a responsibility. It is practically impossible for the government to do it all alone. The budget they have for education will not support this kind of renovation.”

He consequently called for broader participation from groups and organisations capable of supporting educational infrastructure.

*The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi.

“Like-minded people, Parents Teachers Associations (PTAs), charitable organisations, and foundations will have to prioritise education as it concerns infrastructure.”

According to him, the Service has identified facilities in schools across the country where similar interventions could improve the learning environment.

“We have identified educational facilities in several schools located in all parts of the country where interventions like this can help us improve learning environments and make education attractive to the younger ones.”

Adeniyi further stressed the importance of giving girl-child education greater attention, noting that the condition of Ife Girls High School made the intervention particularly significant.

“This school is 60 years old; we felt that we need to do this intervention so that girl-child education will be given the important place it deserves, and I am happy that all other stakeholders are beginning to see that. This includes the Old Girls Association, Osun State government and the Ooni of Ife.”

“We have identified educational facilities in several schools located in all parts of the country where intervention like this can help us improve learning environments and make education attractive to the younger ones”

The NCS intervention comes against the backdrop of the broader need for public institutions and non-governmental stakeholders to support government efforts in improving educational infrastructure.

The CGC urged PTAs, alumni associations, charitable organisations and foundations to see investment in school infrastructure as a shared responsibility, particularly where government resources alone may not be sufficient to address existing gaps.

Earlier, the Principal of Ife Girls High School, Mrs Akinremi Iyabo, expressed appreciation to the NCS for the renovation, describing the project as an investment in the future of the students and society.

*L-R: National Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Customs Service, Deputy Comptroller of Customs (DCC) Abdullahi Aliyu Maiwada, and Oyo/Osun Command Public Relations Officer, Assistant Superintendent of Customs I (ASC I) Abdulmalik Abiodun Akintola, at the commissioning ceremony on Monday.

“We are grateful for the generosity and magnanimous support for the successful completion of this project. This is a great investment in the future of our students and, indeed, in the future of our society,” she said.

She pledged that the school would ensure proper maintenance of the renovated facilities and promote good conduct among the students.

The intervention at Ife Girls’ High School underscores the Service’s CSR focus on targeted infrastructure support, placing education and quality learning facilities for girls among its top priorities.