The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has earned international recognition after its flagship Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme, Customs Cares, won the Commonwealth Environment and CSR Gold Award in Glasgow, Scotland.
The award, presented on Friday, recognises organisations implementing measurable, sustainable and community-driven initiatives that advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
According to the NCS, the Customs Cares initiative was recognised for its impact in education, healthcare, food security and environmental sustainability across communities in Nigeria.
Receiving the award on behalf of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection, Timi Bomodi, described the honour as a significant milestone in the Service's ongoing transformation.
"This award is both humbling and inspiring. It affirms our belief that public institutions create their greatest value not only by fulfilling their statutory mandates, but by improving lives and strengthening the communities they serve," Bomodi said.
Adeniyi attributed the achievement to the support of President Bola Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda, noting that the Customs Cares programme has reached more than 10 million Nigerians across 12 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
He said the initiative has delivered school renovations, healthcare projects, clean water facilities, food support and the Green Borders Initiative, adding that its greatest achievement is building public trust.
"Beyond every classroom renovated, every borehole commissioned and every tree planted is something even more enduring; trust," the Customs boss said.
Speaking at the event, Governor Muthomi Njuki of Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya, stressed the importance of global collaboration in tackling climate change, saying no nation could address the challenge alone without accountability, partnerships, innovation and shared responsibility.
The Comptroller in charge of Corporate Social Responsibility, Mbwiduffu Ibrahim, said the international recognition would motivate the Service to expand its community development efforts.
"For a long time, we worked believing that the impact in our communities was reward enough. Today, this international recognition tells us that those efforts have not gone unnoticed," she said.
The organisers said the Nigeria Customs Service was selected for the award because of its innovative Hub-and-Spoke Community Activation Model, describing it as a model that combines social impact with sustainable development.
They added that the recognition reinforces the Service's growing reputation as a modern customs administration committed to revenue generation, trade facilitation, border security and community development.
.