President Bola Tinubu has extended the tenure of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Comptroller-General Bashir Adewale Adeniyi by one year, from August 31, 2025, to August 31, 2026. The decision, announced by Special Adviser on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga on July 31, 2025, aims to allow Adeniyi to advance ongoing reforms, including modernizing the NCS, implementing the National Single Window Project, and fulfilling Nigeria’s commitments under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) protocol. Tinubu expressed confidence that the extension will strengthen the NCS’s mandate of trade facilitation, revenue generation, and border security. The announcement follows Adeniyi’s appointment as Comptroller-General in October 2023, after serving as Acting Deputy Comptroller-General since January 2023.
However, the extension has sparked controversy, with human rights activist Dr. Bolaji Akinyemi filing a lawsuit (FHC/L/CS/1495/2025) at the Federal High Court in Lagos, challenging its legality under the 1999 Constitution and the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023. Akinyemi argues that Adeniyi’s tenure ended on May 5, 2025, and the extension violates public service rules. The suit, naming Tinubu, Adeniyi, and others as respondents, seeks to declare the extension unconstitutional.
