By | Goodluck E. Adubazi, Abuja
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi, has received a Special Award of Excellence at the 2026 International Public Relations Association (IPRA) Golden World Awards in Athens, Greece.
The recognition, presented on Friday, September 25, 2026, honours the NCS for its strategic communication, transparent stakeholder engagement and ethical public relations approach in supporting the implementation and public understanding of its ongoing reforms.
CGC Adeniyi, while receiving the award, said effective communication remained critical to the success of government reforms, stressing that citizens and stakeholders needed to understand the objectives, challenges and expected benefits of government policies.
He said the recognition would further encourage the Customs Service to deepen its adoption of emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), in public communication and stakeholder engagement.
“We have started using AI tools in our public communication, and we view this recognition as an invitation to do more. By 2027, we hope the NCS and more Nigerian agencies will feature prominently among global award recipients,” he said.
Adeniyi said the NCS reform agenda was aligned with the economic policies of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, particularly efforts to improve Nigeria’s trade competitiveness, facilitate exports and strengthen the country’s participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The Customs boss said the award reflected growing international recognition of the Service’s efforts to modernise its operations, improve trade facilitation and strengthen institutional transparency through effective communication and stakeholder engagement.
He also celebrated Nigeria’s achievement at the IPRA Grand Prix, describing it as an indication of the country’s growing participation and visibility in international strategic communication.
The Grand Prix was awarded to Image Merchants Promotion Limited (IMPR), publishers of PRNigeria and Economic Confidential, for its campaign titled “AI for Crisis Communication: From Study to Strategy.”
The campaign emerged from a research project led by IMPR Chief Executive Officer, Yushau Shuaib, in collaboration with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Centre for Crisis Communication.
The project examined emerging challenges associated with artificial intelligence-driven misinformation, deepfakes and digital information disorder, translating its findings into a strategic communication initiative.
Earlier, in her welcome remarks, President of IPRA, Esther Cobbah, said the return to Athens was particularly significant because the city was where the association developed its Code of Conduct for public relations practice 60 years ago.
She said the 2026 gathering provided an opportunity to celebrate individuals, agencies and organisations that had applied the principles of ethical communication while delivering excellence in their work.
“Sixty years ago, in Athens, we built the code of ethics for public relations practice. Today, we have come back to Athens to see how we have deployed those ethics in our work,” Cobbah said.
The recognition adds to the growing international profile of the Nigeria Customs Service under Adeniyi’s leadership, particularly in the areas of institutional reform, stakeholder engagement, public communication and trade facilitation.
