The Nigeria Customs Service, NCS and the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria, ACSPN have moved to strengthen collaboration in media, digital communication and professional development.
The development followed a meeting between ACSPN executive members and the NCS leadership at the Service’s National Headquarters in Abuja on Monday, August 31, 2026.
Receiving the delegation on behalf of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, the National Public Relations Officer and spokesperson for the Service, Deputy Comptroller of Customs Abdullahi Maiwada, said effective communication was critical to the success of institutional reforms.
Maiwada said the NCS had continued to deploy its monthly newsletter, social media platforms and data analytics to improve public communication, stressing that “in every reform, communication must be embedded to achieve the desired result.”
He also highlighted the Service’s growing engagement with the creative industry, citing its one-off movie, Beyond the Badge, and the 79-episode series, Novera, as examples of how media production could support revenue generation while creating employment opportunities in the entertainment sector.
Maiwada disclosed plans to expand the Nigeria Customs Broadcasting Network (NCBN) to Lagos and said the Service would pursue corporate membership of ACSPN while encouraging its public relations officers to join the association.
The President of ACSPN, Prof. Rotimi Williams Olatunji, commended Maiwada for his support for the association and welcomed the proposed institutional partnership.
Olatunji said ACSPN was prepared to support NCS personnel pursuing higher academic and professional qualifications, noting that communication expertise could strengthen organisations’ responsiveness to public needs.
“When communication scholars are given the opportunity to lead organisations, they excel because they remain conscious of public needs, sensibilities, and sensitivities,” he said.
The engagement also provided an avenue for ACSPN to announce its 2026 National Conference, themed, “Media, Technology and Elections in Africa: Navigating Digital Disruptions and Dynamics of Communication.”
The conference will examine the growing influence of artificial intelligence, social media and digital platforms on political communication ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections.
Speaking at a joint press briefing, Olatunji called for closer collaboration between communication scholars and media practitioners to strengthen fact-based public discourse and counter misinformation, disinformation and AI-manipulated content, including deepfakes.
He also urged media organisations to institutionalise fact-checking as part of efforts to help citizens assess electoral information and navigate the increasingly complex digital communication environment.
The engagement ended with a tour of key facilities at the NCS headquarters, including the Information and Communication Technology/Modernisation Department and the NCBN studios, where the delegation was briefed on the Service’s digital operations and media strategy.