No fewer than 1,516 officers of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) are scheduled to retire over the next two years under the Service’s statutory retirement programme, a move expected to shape the agency’s leadership transition and personnel structure.
The retirement exercise, outlined in internal circulars issued by the Service’s Human Resource and Development Department, covers 825 officers due to retire in 2026 and another 691 expected to exit in 2027.
The development comes as President Bola Tinubu recently approved a final six-month extension of the tenure of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, allowing him to remain in office until February 2027.
According to the circulars, the affected officers span virtually every rank within the Service, from Deputy Comptroller-General to Customs Assistant II, and will retire in line with the provisions of the Public Service Rules governing retirement after 35 years in service or upon attaining the mandatory retirement age.
The 2026 retirement list indicates that the Deputy Superintendent of Customs cadre accounts for the highest number of exits with 285 officers, followed by the Superintendent of Customs cadre with 226 officers. Other categories affected include Chief Superintendents, Chief Customs Officers, Deputy Customs Officers, Assistant Customs Officers, Assistant Superintendents, Inspectors, Assistant Comptrollers-General and five Deputy Comptrollers-General.
For 2027, the Superintendent of Customs cadre is expected to record the highest number of retirements with 200 officers, followed by 193 Deputy Superintendents of Customs. Several officers in other cadres will also leave the Service during the exercise.
The Customs headquarters directed all affected personnel to proceed on mandatory pre-retirement leave three months before their official retirement dates in compliance with Public Service Rule 100238 and relevant Federal Government circulars.
The Service also instructed officers scheduled to retire in 2027 to report any errors or omissions in the retirement list to the office of the Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Human Resources before the stipulated deadline.
Among senior officers affected are several Deputy Comptrollers-General and Assistant Comptrollers-General whose retirement dates fall throughout 2026.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise, Abejide Leke Joseph, dismissed suggestions that the retirements were designed to pave the way for the appointment of a new Comptroller-General.
According to the lawmaker, the exercise is purely statutory and should not be linked to ongoing discussions about succession within the Service.
He explained that the unusually high number of retirements resulted from a prolonged recruitment gap that created a concentration of officers with similar years of service and seniority, causing many of them to reach retirement at roughly the same period.
Abejide maintained that retirement after 35 years of service or at the age of 60 is mandatory under the Public Service Rules and not influenced by leadership appointments.
The latest retirement schedule follows President Tinubu’s approval of a final six-month extension for Comptroller-General Adewale Adeniyi. According to the Presidency, the extension is intended to enable him to complete key reforms, including the implementation of the National Single Window initiative, oversee the promotion of eligible senior officers, and ensure an orderly leadership transition within the Nigeria Customs Service.
The government said the extension is expected to provide continuity for ongoing reforms while allowing the Service to manage its statutory retirements and succession process in accordance with established regulations.
