The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi has called for improved sporting infrastructure across the service’s commands.
He stressed success in sports required discipline and effective teamwork, noting that Customs operations and revenue generation also required clear strategies and coordinated efforts.
Beyond sports, Adeniyi added that the competition offered important lessons that Customs officers should apply to their professional duties, particularly discipline, teamwork and strategy.
The comptroller general noted that adequate facilities were essential to developing the sporting talents of officers.
He made the call at the Zone A Customs Games, where he commended the Zonal Coordinator, Zone A, Assistant Comptroller-General Bapandede and members of their team for the colourful and impressive organisation of the competition, adding that the large turnout of guests, vehicles and participants at the event demonstrated the growing interest in sports within the service.
Adeniyi stressed that the competition also reflected the three pillars of his administration — consolidation, collaboration and innovation.
The Customs boss also commended sister security agencies that participated in the event, including the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, (NDLEA), describing their presence as a demonstration of collaboration and partnership in the discharge of national security responsibilities.
However, he expressed concern over the state of sporting facilities at the Customs training college, recalling that the facilities had remained largely unchanged since he trained there more than 30 years ago.
According to him, this was unacceptable for a service that had contributed significantly to sports development in Nigeria.
Adeniyi noted that Customs had produced athletes and teams that had excelled in various sporting competitions, stressing that the service was the defending champion in male and female volleyball and had also performed strongly in basketball, football, athletics and beach volleyball.
He said the service was already building an ultra-modern sporting facility in one of its barracks in Kano and promised that a befitting sports facility would be included in the proposed new location of the Customs Training College.
Also, he corrected the description of the Zone A competition as an inaugural event, recalling that similar zonal games had been organised in the past in Kano and other locations. He urged the service to revive the inter-zonal competition after all zones had organised their respective games.
He congratulated the winners and encouraged those who lost to prepare for future competitions, urging officers to maintain the spirit of sportsmanship and teamwork in the discharge of their responsibilities.
