By Sandra Chukwunyere
The Federal Government has been urged to provide legislative backing for ongoing reforms in the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to prevent a reversal of recent gains.
The Sea Empowerment and Research Center (SEREC) made the call in a policy brief, warning that reforms not backed by law remain vulnerable to policy changes and leadership transitions.
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According to the think tank, although the NCS has made notable progress in recent years, the absence of strong institutional safeguards raises concerns about how sustainable those achievements will be.
SEREC referenced the reform philosophy of former Comptroller-General of Customs, Abdullahi Dikko Inde, who in 2014 stressed the need for continuity in public sector reforms. It noted that his vision was built around creating systems that future administrations could strengthen rather than abandon.
The centre said that under the current Comptroller-General, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, the Customs Service has recorded improvements in key areas such as digital modernisation, revenue generation, enforcement, and stakeholder engagement.
However, it warned that these gains could easily be lost if they are not supported by strong legal and institutional frameworks.
SEREC stressed that Nigeria must avoid a pattern where reforms are introduced but abandoned with every change in leadership, noting that such inconsistency weakens institutions and slows development.
It added that for reforms to last, they must be properly institutionalised and embedded within the system, rather than tied to any individual leader.
The think tank also introduced the idea of the NCS operating as a “relay institution,” where each administration builds on the work of its predecessor instead of starting from scratch.
It further emphasised the need to maintain a professional, career-driven leadership structure in the Customs Service, warning that past departures from this approach have led to setbacks.
SEREC also pointed to younger customs officers as key to sustaining the reforms and called for greater investment in their training and development to help preserve institutional memory.
In addition, it urged the Federal Government to replicate the Customs reform model in other government agencies, especially in areas such as policy continuity, accountability, and digital transformation.
It warned that without deliberate efforts to protect these reforms, Nigeria risks losing the progress already made and weakening confidence in public sector reforms.
