The Nigeria Customs Service has said candidates whose names appeared on its published recruitment list are not automatically guaranteed appointment, explaining that final screening is still ongoing before successful applicants are admitted for training.

The clarification followed complaints by some candidates who claimed they successfully completed the Computer-Based Test, physical examinations and initial screening, accepted their appointments through the official recruitment portal and saw their names published as successful candidates, but had yet to receive invitations for training scheduled to commence on Friday.

The affected candidates, according to a report by SaharaReporters, include more than 500 applicants who said they had been left uncertain about their status after invitations to the training reportedly stopped on Monday.

Some of the candidates claimed they had resigned from their previous jobs and incurred other expenses after believing that their appointments had been secured.

However, the Customs spokesman and Deputy Comptroller of Customs, Abdullahi Maiwada, told The PUNCH exclusively on Wednesday that the publication of a candidate’s name did not amount to a final appointment into the service.

Maiwada said candidates must pass the physical screening and other requirements before they can be admitted into the training college and eventually commissioned as officers.

“I will start my response first with a question. Did anyone who complained to you inform you that they have been issued an appointment letter? So that means the process is still ongoing. Secondly, the essence of screening is to have a physical examination of successful candidates.

“Let me explain so that you would have proper context. The essence of screening is either for candidates to be screened in or screened out, and they are just simple issues. It is either you have not met the criteria to be offered an appointment letter into Customs or to be ushered into training college. If anyone fails this, they will be dropped,” he said.

The spokesman said age, academic credentials, medical fitness and drug use were among the requirements that could determine whether a candidate progressed to the next stage.

He explained, “Those criteria are simple. Age is very important. If your age is above the threshold, you will be disqualified. If there are inconsistencies in your credentials, you will be disqualified. If there are forgeries detected, you will be disqualified.

“If we see you with drugs, any element of drugs except tobacco and beer, you will be disqualified. If you have medical issues that wouldn’t warrant you to undergo that rigour, you would also be disqualified.”

Maiwada stressed that even admission into the training college would not make a candidate a Customs officer, saying applicants must successfully complete the training and satisfy academic, physical and character requirements before commissioning.

He said, “The fact that your name came out and you are invited for screening doesn’t qualify you to be a Customs officer. Even with that, you are going for training. And you will go for the training. It is when you pass the requirements that you will be commissioned as an officer. Anything before that, you are still not an officer.

“Someone can go to the Nigerian Defence Academy and still fail. It is not everyone who comes out who passes or is a flying lieutenant. And even if you find yourself in training college, you are still not a Customs officer. Until the day you pass out successfully and you are able to withstand all the rigours.

“Academic exercises will be done, and you must come out well in character and learning. Exams will be conducted.”

The spokesman said the service could not justify spending public resources to train candidates who had already failed basic eligibility requirements. He said drug screening was particularly important because the Customs Service conducts annual drug tests for serving officers, regardless of rank.

“If someone is into drugs and he is disqualified, do we have to waste our resources taking him to training college before disqualifying him? No! These are criteria that are so simple. You have forgery and the like, and you want to be allowed into the system.

“If you see what we saw with medical records, you will be scared for this country. The rate at which boys are into drugs, you will be scared. Is this the future? The service runs drug tests for every officer every year, no matter your ranking. So if we can do that to persons in the system, what do you think we would do to persons outside it?” Maiwada said.

The ongoing controversy is linked to the Nigeria Customs Service’s 2024/2025 recruitment exercise, which began with an advertisement published on December 27, 2024.

The Service declared 3,927 vacancies across the Superintendent, Inspectorate and Customs Assistant cadres and received 573,680 applications.

After several stages of screening and verification, 3,852 candidates were selected, representing only 0.67 per cent of the applicants, or about one successful candidate for every 148 applicants.

The successful candidates comprised 1,275 Superintendents, 367 Inspectors and 2,210 Customs Assistants. The Service later conducted medical documentation and physical screening before inviting candidates who passed the subsequent stage for basic training scheduled to begin on October 9, 2026, at the Customs Training College.

Maiwada’s explanation means that candidates whose names appeared in the published list may still be subject to further verification before they receive final appointment letters, proceed through training and are eventually commissioned as Customs officers.

Source: punchng.com

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The Aliko Dangote Foundation has commenced the implementation of its share subscription grant initiative for Nigerian women, with the programme extending to eligible policewomen and military women.

The Dangote Group confirmed to The PUNCH that eligible female personnel in the police and military are among the beneficiaries covered by the initiative, which targets up to two million Nigerian women through the ongoing Initial Public Offering of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE.

The initiative, which was announced by the foundation recently, is aimed at increasing women’s participation in Nigeria’s capital market, particularly among low- and middle-income earners and vulnerable women.

Under the programme, eligible women can access grants to acquire shares in the Dangote refinery, promoting equity ownership, savings and long-term investment, as well as creating opportunities for wealth creation through participation in the capital market.

In a statement on Wednesday, the foundation said the beneficiaries include independent applicants earning N100,000 or less per month, verified participants in designated ADF programmes such as CRoWN, ADFIN and Mu Shuka Iri, “eligible non-commissioned servicewomen and service spouses, as well as verified service widows”.

An official of the group confirmed to The PUNCH that the “eligible non-commissioned servicewomen” category covers policewomen and military women.

The foundation said eligible independent applicants who subscribe to a minimum of 10 shares would receive an ADF-funded application for an additional 10 shares in their names under the matching grant track.

Under the unconditional grant track, the foundation will fund applications for 20 shares on behalf of eligible beneficiaries who meet the programme’s eligibility, investor identification and Know Your Customer requirements.

The foundation said the second category covered verified beneficiaries from designated ADF programmes and verified service widows.

It said grant funds would be applied directly through the designated issuing house, stressing that no cash would be paid to beneficiaries, government agencies or sponsors.

“Any shares successfully allotted will be credited solely to the beneficiary and held in her name,” the foundation stated.

To participate, applicants must be Nigerian women aged 18 years and above, reside in Nigeria, meet the eligibility requirements of their respective categories, and successfully complete the required identity verification and KYC processes.

The foundation said beneficiaries would receive no more than one ADF share grant across all its share grant schemes.

ADF is implementing the initiative in partnership with Vetiva Capital Management and the Nigerian Exchange Group through the Securities and Exchange Commission-approved IPO subscription infrastructure.

The foundation disclosed that it would neither receive nor hold applicants’ or sponsors’ subscription funds, adding that applications, payments, allotments and refunds would be handled in line with the IPO prospectus, regulatory requirements and approved basis of allotment.

It also said applicants did not need an existing Central Securities Clearing System account, as accounts would be created through Vetiva where necessary after completion of the IPO’s KYC requirements.

The foundation explained that eligible independent applicants could submit their applications exclusively through its official portal, while beneficiaries affiliated with ADF programmes and verified service widows would receive application guidance through approved Foundation channels.

As the offer closes on October 13, ADF urged prospective participants to remain vigilant against fraud, warning applicants against making payments to agents, individuals or personal bank accounts in exchange for grants or guaranteed allotment.

It also advised applicants not to share passwords, PINs or one-time passwords, and to verify unexpected payment requests or online links through official channels before taking action.

The foundation said the initiative was part of its commitment to inclusive economic empowerment and broadening access to investment opportunities for Nigerian women.