July 31, (THEWILL) — President Bola Tinubu has extended the tenure of Bashir Adeniyi, comptroller-general of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), by one year.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, announced this in a statement on Thursday.
Adeniyi, whose tenure was initially set to expire on August 31, 2025, will now remain in office until August 2026.
According to the statement, the extension is aimed at allowing Adeniyi to consolidate ongoing reforms and complete key initiatives of the Tinubu administration.
These include the modernisation of the Customs Service, implementation of the National Single Window Project, and Nigeria’s obligations under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) protocol.
President Tinubu recognises Mr Adeniyi’s steadfast leadership and commitment to service.
“The President is confident that this extension will further strengthen the Nigeria Customs Service in achieving its strategic mandate of trade facilitation, revenue generation, and border security”, the statement read.
Adeniyi, who took over from former CG Hameed Ali in June 2023, had initially been appointed in an acting capacity before his confirmation in October of the same year.
Meanwhile, a human rights activist and social crusader, Bolaji Akinyemi, has approached a Federal High Court in Lagos to challenge the legality, or otherwise, of the tenure extension of Adeniyi by President Tinubu.
Numbered (FHC/L/CS/1495/2025), the suit brought under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009, and relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2023, prayed the court to determine: “Whether the president has the constitutional or statutory authority under Section 14(1) of the Nigeria Customs Service Act (2023 as amended) to extend the tenure of Adeniyi after he proceeds on terminal leave.
“Whether Adeniyi can legally continue to act in the capacity of Comptroller-General beyond his exit date without violating the rights and due process expectations of Nigerians, particularly Dr. Akinyemi, who claims this impinges on his right to life, dignity, and democratic governance.”
He, therefore, prayed the court for a “Restraining order barring both the president and Adeniyi from executing or accepting any of such tenure extension. Any further orders the court deems just in the interest of constitutional order and rule of law.”
The suit had President Bola Tinubu, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi; Minister of Finance, Wale Edun; Nigeria Customs Service; Nigeria Customs Service Governing Board; Office of the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs and Excise Services; and the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, as respondents.
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