Nigeria’s Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, has been recognised with the Lifetime Achievement in Customs Administration Award.

The honour came at the 10th anniversary of the Nigeria Most Influential Awards, which held in Abuja on Saturday, 22 August 2026.

The award recognised Adeniyi’s leadership of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS)—especially his work in making trade easier, boosting revenue, introducing technology-driven reforms, and repositioning the organisation.

The event, themed “Celebrating 10 Years of Influence and Impact,” brought together notable Nigerians to celebrate people who have made a real difference in their fields.

Speaking after receiving the award, Adeniyi said he was delighted by the recognition, noting that it shows the work of the Service under his leadership is being noticed.

“When this kind of recognition comes, naturally, you must be delighted. You must be happy,” he said. But he also stressed there is still more work to be done: “This kind of award is a statement of saying that we’ve done well, but we know that this type of award is a statement of saying we can still do more.”

He added that the recognition reflects the reforms across the NCS—which include modernising customs administration, improving trade processes, strengthening revenue collection, and extending the Service’s social impact through initiatives like Customs Cares.

The organiser of the awards, Ambassador Vivian Lau, explained that the scheme was created to honour individuals whose positive contributions have influenced society and shaped their communities.

The anniversary celebration featured music, dance and comedy performances, but the Lifetime Achievement Award presentation to the Customs helmsman stood out as one of the highlights of the evening.