SEREC Opposes Indefinite Extension of Customs Officers’ Tenure, Backs Succession Planning

The Sea Empowerment and Research Centre, SEREC has opposed calls for an extension of the tenure of senior officers of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, insisting that officers recruited between 2007 and 2009 should be fairly assessed for leadership positions.

The centre argued that the assumption that younger officers lack the experience required for senior management positions was unjustified without an objective assessment of their qualifications, professional competence and operational records.

In an official policy statement signed by its Director-General, Francis Aniezechukwu, SEREC acknowledged the importance of institutional continuity but maintained that the achievements of the Customs Service were the collective results of personnel across different ranks.

According to the centre, revenue collection, anti-smuggling operations, intelligence gathering, cargo examination, trade facilitation and enforcement activities depend on the contributions of officers throughout the Service, not senior management alone.

It maintained that the operational contributions of officers recruited between 2007 and 2009 must be recognised and assessed rather than dismissed through generalisations about their readiness for leadership.

SEREC said the recruitment generation has accumulated nearly two decades of experience in customs valuation, tariff classification, cargo examination, revenue collection and border enforcement.

The centre noted that officers recruited during the period should no longer be regarded as inexperienced solely because they joined the Service later than their predecessors.

Sea Empowerment Research Centre stressed that eligibility for senior management positions should be determined by individual qualifications, professional training, operational performance and leadership experience.

“The proper question is therefore not whether they joined later than their seniors, but whether they satisfy the requirements for their prospective appointments,” the statement said.

To illustrate the scale of professional responsibilities within the Service, SEREC cited NCS performance figures showing that the Service recorded 2,442 seizures valued at approximately ₦25.52 billion in duty-paid terms in the first half of 2024.

It also referenced reported revenue generation of approximately ₦6.105 trillion in 2024, representing 20.2 per cent above the Service’s annual target.

The centre said these results reflected the collective efforts of Customs personnel across operational commands and administrative departments, while cautioning against attributing the achievements exclusively to any particular recruitment generation without supporting evidence.

It further cited the promotion of 4,291 senior officers in December 2024 and 3,312 in September 2025 as evidence of the Service’s continuing career-progression processes.

SEREC called for an assessment to establish how many officers recruited between 2007 and 2009 possess the qualifications, command experience and operational records required for senior management appointments.

The centre also argued that modern Customs administration requires expertise in international trade, digitalisation, risk management, intelligence, customs valuation, post-clearance audit, enforcement and trade facilitation.

It urged the Service to consider officers’ university qualifications, professional certifications, domestic and international training, awards, commendations and command experience when evaluating their suitability for advancement.

The organisation, however, clarified that it was not suggesting that every younger officer was better qualified than every senior officer.

Rather, it maintained that no recruitment generation should be declared unqualified without a fair, objective and evidence-based assessment.

On institutional continuity, SEREC acknowledged the value of experienced senior officers and called for structured mentoring, proper documentation, formal handovers and knowledge transfer to preserve institutional expertise.

It nevertheless warned that succession planning should not be postponed indefinitely through repeated extensions of senior officers’ tenure.

According to the statement, any extension must comply with applicable laws and public-service rules and be justified by a clearly defined institutional need.

SEREC argued that a general claim that younger officers lacked experience was insufficient unless the specific competency gaps were identified and the reasons training, mentoring or an orderly transition could not address them were established.

The centre consequently called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Nigeria Customs Service Board and other relevant authorities to adopt a transparent, lawful and merit-based approach to leadership succession.

It recommended an assessment of officers eligible for senior management appointments, the publication of anonymised statistics on their qualifications and professional experience, recognition of documented operational achievements, structured knowledge transfer and clear succession plans.

The organisation maintained that officers who had contributed to building and operating the Service should be given a fair opportunity to demonstrate their readiness to lead.

“The future of the Nigeria Customs Service must be secured through planned succession, professional development and merit—not through an indefinite extension of the past,” the statement added.

SEREC is an independent maritime policy, research and advocacy organisation.

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