News
Breaking: Customs to unveil yearly hiring, open 2026 recruitment portal soon
The Nigeria Customs Service has announced a significant shift in its recruitment policy, stating that future recruitment exercises will be conducted annually instead of at irregular intervals.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, revealed this during a press briefing on the release of the final list of successful candidates for the 2024/2025 recruitment exercise at the service headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said the decision was part of efforts to create a predictable manpower planning system that would enable the service to replace retiring officers promptly while giving young Nigerians regular opportunities to join the organisation.
According to Adeniyi, the service has moved away from a recruitment model under which applicants had to wait several years before another opportunity became available.
He explained that the new structure would make recruitment a continuous process, with the 2026 exercise expected to commence later this year.
The 2026 Recruitment Exercise will open later this year, and it is my firm intention that it will be completed within a single calendar year, from advertisement to final list.”
The Comptroller-General said the lengthy process experienced during the 2024/2025 recruitment exercise was largely due to the need to establish a robust recruitment architecture capable of supporting future exercises.
He said the service had invested time and resources in building the framework, adding that subsequent recruitment exercises would benefit from the structures already put in place.
“The systems, the screening architecture and the verification processes built during this exercise now exist, and they will not have to be built again,” he said.
“The delays of this cycle were in significant part the cost of constructing that machinery. That cost has now been paid.”
Adeniyi said the annual recruitment model would benefit both the service and prospective applicants by improving workforce planning and reducing uncertainty among young Nigerians seeking employment.
He explained that the approach would enable the service to anticipate manpower gaps arising from retirements and other exits instead of waiting until shortages occur before recruiting.
“An annual cycle serves the Service and the applicant equally. It allows us to plan our manpower against known retirements rather than in reaction to them,” he said.
He added that the new system would also provide clarity for unsuccessful applicants by allowing them to prepare for future opportunities without prolonged uncertainty.
“And it means that a young Nigerian who is unsuccessful this year knows precisely when the next opportunity arrives, rather than waiting in uncertainty for an announcement that may be years in coming,” he stated.
The announcement followed the conclusion of the 2024/2025 recruitment exercise, which attracted significant interest from Nigerians seeking employment in the paramilitary agency.
Adeniyi also announced that 3,852 candidates had been offered appointments across the service’s three entry cadres.
Of the successful candidates, 1,275 were recruited into the Superintendent Cadre, 367 into the Inspectorate Cadre, and 2,210 into the Customs Assistant Cadre.
Francis-Xavier Sosu, Ghanaian member of parliament, collapsed on stage while delivering a speech.
Sosu was addressing students at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) in Accra on Thursday when he began to show signs of dizziness, according to video posted by Joy Online, a local media outlet.
Pausing his address, the lawmaker attempted to hold on to the podium but was unable to continue his speech or stand upright.
A man and a woman approached the podium from the side of the hall to assist the lawmaker, who later collapsed into their arms as they rushed him out of the building.
A statement issued by Ivan Dzakpasu, Sosu’s chief of staff, said the MP has received the necessary medical attention following the incident.
The statement did not provide details on the nature of the incident, the medical attention received or what may have caused the MP to become unwell.
The statement urged the public to remain calm and avoid relying on unverified reports or speculation about the lawmaker’s condition.
The federal high court in Gombe has nullified the emergence of Isa Pantami as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for the 2027 governorship election in the state.
The court, in a judgment delivered on Thursday by Amina Aliyu Mohammed, also ordered the PDP to conduct a fresh governorship primary in compliance with its constitution, guidelines and relevant electoral laws.
The judgment followed a suit filed by Usman Garry, a PDP governorship aspirant, who challenged the process through which Pantami emerged as the party’s candidate.
In May, Pantami withdrew from the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary election scheduled for May 21 in Gombe state.
Pantami attributed his withdrawal from the race to the alleged breaches of the electoral process.
He eventually joined the PDP and emerged as the party’s 2027 governorship candidate in Gombe state.
The former minister secured the ticket through voice affirmation during the party’s gubernatorial primary.
Garry objected to the affirmation of Pantami as the flagbearer of the Abdulrahman Mohammed-led faction and eventually filed a suit against the former minister.
Garry had asked the court to set aside Pantami’s emergence on the grounds that the PDP did not conduct a valid governorship primary in accordance with its rules and applicable electoral laws.
After hearing arguments from the parties, the court had reserved judgment in July.
At Thursday’s proceedings, counsel to Pantami argued that he had validly resigned from the APC on May 19, 2026, before participating in the PDP primary.
The PDP also opposed the suit and urged the court to strike out the case.
Garry’s counsel, however, urged the court to dismiss the objections and grant the reliefs sought by his client.
The court, however, directed the PDP to conduct a fresh governorship primary in accordance with its guidelines and applicable electoral provisions.
Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has noted the steady development that Osun State University has witnessed under the current management of the institution.
He said the visible progress under the current Vice-Chancellor, Prof Clement Adebooye, was the main factor considered to approve tenure extension for the VC.
Adeleke, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Kola Adewusi, asserted on Thursday while addressing the 16th UNIOSUN convocation ceremony held at the main campus of the university in Osogbo,
The governor listed Adebooye’s accomplishments, saying various breakthroughs recorded by the current management had transformed the institution.
Flaunting the multiple achievements in academic and infrastructural growth within the university, Adeleke, in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, further said, “In the last four years, 40 main building projects have been constructed and commissioned for use. There is no year that I have not personally come to the campus to commission legacy projects.
“In August this year alone, I commissioned the ultra-modern FIFA-standard Sports Complex, 3-in-1 Science Laboratory Complex, and two landmark Lecture Theatres.
“In addition to these, there have been well over 30 complementary works that include renovations, procurement and supplies, solar installations, etc., all with a view to making teaching, learning and administrative work conducive.
“Of more importance is the sustenance of the long-established culture of peace and industrial harmony in the university. This is why for the past five years, the university has not missed any academic session, nor has it failed to graduate its deserving students as and when due.
“It is on record that UNIOSUN is the second state-owned university to fully implement the 2025 FGN-staff union agreement.
“So, in terms of staff welfare and overall teaching and learning environment, this university remains a model. This is a major commitment of our government to support the responsible and responsive administration that we have put in charge of this university.
“In a bid to sustain continuity of performance and academic excellence, I approved a two-year extension of the tenure of the vice-chancellor with effect from 4th January, 2027 after strategic consultations and compliance with the state law.”
Speaking further on the development, the governor said his pronouncement has, accordingly, been backed up by the amendment to Osun State University Law (2006), passed by the state House of Assembly earlier this month, vowing “to continue to do everything to support the sustenance of academic and administrative excellence in this University.
“It must also be stated very clearly that my decision was well guided and it is rooted in legality, and in the overall best interest of the university.
“Our choice of the new chancellor followed a similar merit-driven thought process, and the innumerable applause from all parts of the world proved us right on Mama BOVAS’ appointment.
“Our resolve to also dissolve and reconstitute the governing council is another product of painstaking review towards accelerating the progressive development of the university. We are therefore not bound by any law or tradition to accept the dictates of any staff union regarding what we think is the best for our university,” the governor insisted.
Rolling out further achievements of the university under the vice-chancellor, Adeleke said, “In this month alone, the current vice-chancellor and his team attracted five major signature projects from the Federal Government and successfully laid their foundations with a view to completing the projects before December 2027.
“This is a vice-chancellor who met a half-alive medical school but diligently worked to ensure that all accreditation requirements by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria were met by the university, and has presented all 90 pioneer MBBS students both for MDCN induction and award of UNIOSUN degrees.
“This is a vice-chancellor who massively expanded the university’s academic landscape, thus increasing the student population from 14,260 in 2022 to 42,791 in 2026.
“This is a vice-chancellor who worked very closely with the great family of Apostle Folorunso Alakija to ensure the completion and commissioning of the 250-bed state-of-the-art Modupe and Folorunso Alakija Medical Research and Training Hospital.
“The hospital has since started full operation. In terms of global impact and visibility, for the first time in 11 years, UNIOSUN emerged as the third-best state university in Nigeria, 19th out of 312 universities in Nigeria, and 137th out of 2,390 universities in Africa,” he posited.
He urged staff and management to join hands with the governing board to continue to take the university to greater heights.
He restated the readiness of his administration towards providing maximum support for improved university governance and service delivery.
Miners’ deaths: NSCDC pledges justice, says no cover-up
EFCC Hands Over N80m Recovered Funds To Businessman
Ghanaian lawmaker collapses while addressing students
-
News17 hours agoVideo: Apo-Karshi road getting required finishing touches
-
News17 hours agoSAD! Four Teenage Girls Die As Boat Carrying Eight Capsizes In Jigawa
-
News17 hours agoUS firm declares America won’t allow Tinubu rig 2027 polls in Nigeria
-
Opinion17 hours agoOF TEEJAY YUSUF, KOGI WEST SENATORIAL DISTRICT, AND RESPONSIVE SERVANTHOOD
-
Foreign17 hours agoIran vows to extend Middle East war to Indian ocean
-
News16 hours agoFG Cuts Late Tax Payment Interest as New Rate Takes Effect October 1