The Comptroller-General (C-G) of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adeniyi, has received a Special Award of Excellence at the 2026 International Public Relations Association (IPRA) Golden World Awards (GWA) in Athens.
The statement by NCS spokesperson, Abdullahi Maiwada, on Sunday in Abuja, said the award recognised the service’s strategic communication and stakeholder engagement efforts.
Maiwada explained that the award recognised NCS’s approach to transparent communication, stakeholder engagement and ethical public relations in supporting the implementation and public understanding of its ongoing reforms.
He said the recognition was particularly for initiatives aimed at modernising Customs operations, improving trade facilitation and strengthening institutional transparency.
Meanwhile, the C-G described the honour as an international recognition of the NCS’s reform efforts.
Adeniyi said the recognition would encourage the service to deepen its use of emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, 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.
He said effective communication remained critical to the success of government reforms because citizens and stakeholders needed to understand their objectives, implementation challenges and expected benefits.
According to him, the NCS reform agenda aligns with President Bola 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).
He further celebrated Nigeria’s win at the IPRA Grand Prix, describing the achievement as an indication of the country’s growing participation in international strategic communication.
The New Grand Prix was awarded to Image Merchants Promotion Limited (IMPR), publishers of PRNigeria and Economic Confidential, for its campaign, AI for Crisis Communication: From Study to Strategy.
The Grand Prix is the highest overall award of the IPRA Golden World Awards
NAN reports that the IPRA GWA established in 1990 is an annual international public relations awards programme organised by the IPRA to recognise excellence in public relations practice worldwide.
The awards honour outstanding communication campaigns based on research, planning, execution and results.
