President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on July 30, 2025, approved a one-year extension for the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Bashiru Adeniyi, whose tenure was supposed to end on August 31, 2025. The extension will now keep him in office until August 2026.

According to the Presidency, the reason for the extension was to allow Adeniyi to complete key reforms, such as the National Single Window Project and Nigeria’s AfCFTA trade commitments. The government also praised his performance in customs modernisation, revenue generation and border security.

However, beyond the official explanations, the extension raised serious concerns among many Igbos who believe it further reflects the long-standing sidelining of their people in the Nigeria Customs Service.

One of the major issues is the case of Deputy Comptroller-General B. U. Nwafor, an Igbo officer who, by timing and rank, could have been considered for the position of Comptroller-General if Adeniyi had exited on August 31, 2025. Instead, the extension effectively shut the door on that possibility.

New service records show that DCG Nwafor was approaching her statutory retirement and was due for pre-retirement leave. Rather than allowing a smooth transition that could have given an Igbo officer a chance, even if it was for a year, which still allowed her by the new date presented, but the system chose to extend the tenure of the current CG, thereby freezing the leadership structure and blocking any such opportunity.

Although the Nigeria Customs Service Act gives the President the power to appoint any officer not below the rank of Assistant Comptroller-General as CG, the reality is that such appointments have rarely favoured the South-East. The law allows flexibility, but the pattern of decisions continues to leave Igbos out of the topmost position.

Supporters of the extension argue that Igbo officers hold some strategic commands and departments. But many in the region see this as tokenism — being placed in operational roles while being denied the ultimate leadership position. To them, commanding ports and border posts is not the same as being trusted with the highest office in the service.

The controversy also exposed how sensitive the issue of marginalisation has become, especially when ethnic balance and fairness are involved. The intervention by Ohanaeze Ndigbo, though criticised by some, reflected the deep frustration of a people who feel repeatedly pushed aside in national institutions.

In the end, while the government insists the extension was based purely on performance and reform continuity, many Igbos believe it is yet another example of how the system finds ways to maintain the status quo while their turn at the very top is always postponed.