CGC targets skills development, school upgrades in CSR initiative

Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), has pledged sustained support for student development and infrastructure upgrades under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives of the Service.

He made the pledge on Tuesday at Government Secondary School, Wuse Zone 3, Abuja, during the first anniversary ceremony of the agency’s CSR initiative, “Customs Cares,” which has reached about 15,000 students nationwide in its first year. The event marked the impact of the programme over the past year and featured the official commissioning of a newly renovated assembly hall, a tree-planting exercise to promote environmental sustainability, and the donation of basketball kits and balls to students.

Adeniyi described “Customs Cares” as a well-structured CSR platform designed to deliver measurable impact across key sectors, including education, healthcare, food security, environmental sustainability, social investment, and the creative economy. He said the initiative underscores the Service’s broader commitment to national development beyond its statutory responsibilities.

The Comptroller-General noted that the CSR initiative has focused on addressing the school’s immediate needs, including security challenges and infrastructural deficits. “We came in, we had an intervention of solar lights. They also said they needed to renovate this school. And of course we also saw the state of the hall. I am indeed very, very happy that in a short time we had the opportunity to interact with you and acted. It was a kind of a promise made, promise kept,” Adeniyi said.

Beyond physical upgrades, Adeniyi stressed the importance of equipping students with essential life skills. He encouraged the school to maximise opportunities for social interaction, public speaking, and talent expression, citing these as foundational for personal development. “Please give the exposure to our kids so that they will have the confidence and the skills—the life skills—they will need as they move on in their educational pursuits,” he urged.

The NCS chief also indicated the Service’s readiness to collaborate with the school’s management to maximise the facility’s potential, noting that its central location in Abuja presents opportunities for revenue generation. “What I am therefore proposing is that we need to engage the FCT education board on the merits of a system in which facilities like this can turn into a gold mine, that the school can use not only to maintain the school, but also to raise money for other things that we might require,” Adeniyi said.

Adeniyi also urged proper maintenance of the school’s facilities, highlighting the challenges of sustaining such infrastructure in secondary schools across the country.

The anniversary event reinforced the Service’s commitment to continuity, accountability, and tangible results, with interventions that include CCTV cameras and solar-powered lighting.

Mbwidiffu Ibrahim, Head of the Customs Cares CSR Unit, described the programme as tailored to address critical community needs and called the intervention “an investment in the future of Nigerian students.”

Representing the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Danlami Hayyo, Secretary for Education commended the Service for its focus on education, urging the school to utilise the new facilities effectively.

Fatima Gambo Babba, director and secretary of the FCT Secondary Education Board, described the initiative as evidence of productive collaboration between public institutions and the education sector.

Josephine Chizoba Ugwu, the school’s Principal, expressed gratitude to the Service, noting that the intervention would significantly improve teaching, learning, and overall school development.