The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is set to lose 1,516 officers over the next two years as part of a statutory retirement exercise that will affect personnel across all cadres, including five Deputy Comptrollers-General (DCGs).
The retirements are contained in two restricted circulars issued by the Service’s Human Resource and Development Department and signed by the Comptroller, Establishment, A.A. Bazuaye, on behalf of the Deputy Comptroller-General, Human Resources and Development.
According to the documents, 825 officers are scheduled to retire in 2026, while another 691 officers will leave the Service in 2027 in line with statutory retirement provisions.
The final list of officers due for retirement in 2026, contained in Circular No. HRD/2025/048 dated September 19, 2025, shows that the Deputy Superintendent of Customs cadre accounts for the highest number of exits with 285 officers, followed by the Superintendent of Customs cadre with 226 officers.
Other officers affected by the 2026 exercise include 64 Assistant Superintendents of Customs I, 61 Chief Superintendents of Customs, 53 Chief Customs Officers, 51 Deputy Customs Officers, 46 Assistant Customs Officers, 13 Assistant Comptrollers-General and five Deputy Comptrollers-General.
The draft retirement list for 2027, conveyed through Circular No. HRD/2026/020 dated May 26, 2026, indicates that the Superintendent of Customs cadre will account for the highest number of retirements with 200 officers, followed by the Deputy Superintendent of Customs cadre with 193 officers.
Others slated for retirement in 2027 include 81 Deputy Customs Officers, 68 Chief Superintendents of Customs, 57 Assistant Customs Officers, 39 Assistant Superintendents of Customs I, 38 Chief Customs Officers and four Assistant Comptrollers-General.
The circulars directed all affected officers to proceed on mandatory pre-retirement leave three months before their effective retirement dates in accordance with Public Service Rule 100238 and Federal Government Circular No. 63216/S.I/X/T; CR 1/2001/5 of March 20, 2001.
The officers were also instructed to submit their three-month pre-retirement notices to the Comptroller-General of Customs.
Among the senior officers affected by the 2026 exercise are Deputy Comptrollers-General Omale, Nnadi, Chiroma, Adeola MRS and Niagwan. Several Assistant Comptrollers-General, including Egwuh, Umoh, Mohammed, Abe, Olomu, Olaniyan, Yusuf, Oladeji and Gaji, are also scheduled to exit the Service.
The 2027 circular further provided a window for corrections, directing officers with complaints or omissions in the retirement list to forward them to the office of the Deputy Comptroller-General, Human Resources and Development, on or before July 31, 2026.
Reacting to the development, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise, Abejide Leke Joseph, dismissed suggestions that the retirements were linked to the appointment of a new Comptroller-General of Customs.
According to him, the retirements are purely statutory and in line with civil service regulations requiring officers to retire after attaining the age of 60 or completing 35 years in service.
He attributed the large number of impending retirements to a 16-year recruitment gap and prolonged stagnation in promotions within the Service, which resulted in officers with service numbers in the 41000, 42000 and 43000 series rising through the ranks almost simultaneously.
Abejide noted that the development created a top-heavy structure in the Service, leading to a concentration of officers reaching retirement age at about the same period.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu recently approved a final six-month tenure extension for the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, allowing him to remain in office until February 2027.
According to the Presidency, the extension is intended to enable Adeniyi consolidate key reforms, including the implementation of the National Single Window project, oversee promotions of eligible officers and ensure an orderly succession process within the Nigeria Customs Service.
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