Customs CGC Adeniyi Bags IPRA Golden World Award

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 award, presented on September 25, 2026, recognised the NCS’s strategic communication, stakeholder engagement and ethical public relations efforts in supporting the implementation and public understanding of its ongoing reforms.

The recognition specifically acknowledged the Service’s communication approach to reforms aimed at modernising Customs operations, improving trade facilitation and strengthening institutional transparency.

Receiving the award, Adeniyi described it as an international recognition of the NCS reform agenda, saying it would encourage the Service to deepen the use 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,” he said.

Adeniyi expressed the hope that by 2027, the NCS and other Nigerian government agencies would feature more prominently among global award recipients.

The Customs boss stressed the importance of effective communication to the success of government reforms, noting that citizens and stakeholders needed to understand the objectives, implementation challenges and expected benefits of such initiatives.

He said the NCS reform agenda was aligned with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic policies, particularly efforts to improve Nigeria’s trade competitiveness, facilitate exports and strengthen the country’s participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Adeniyi also congratulated Nigeria on its success at the IPRA Grand Prix, which was won by Image Merchants Promotion Limited (IMPR), publishers of PRNigeria and Economic Confidential, for its campaign, “AI for Crisis Communication: From Study to Strategy.”

The campaign was developed 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 challenges associated with AI-driven misinformation, deepfakes and digital information disorder, translating its findings into a strategic communication initiative.

Earlier, IPRA President, Esther Cobbah, said the return of the association’s gathering to Athens was significant because the city was where its Code of Conduct for public relations practice was developed 60 years ago.

She said the 2026 event provided an opportunity to celebrate individuals, agencies and organisations that had applied ethical communication principles while delivering excellence in their work.