By Nkechi Eze
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, has been honoured by the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) for excellence in strategic communication and stakeholder engagement, with the recognition highlighting the Nigeria Customs Service’s efforts to promote transparent communication and public understanding of its ongoing reforms.
Adeniyi received the Special Award of Excellence at the 2026 IPRA Golden World Awards held in Athens, Greece, on Friday, September 25, 2026. The award recognised the Nigeria Customs Service’s approach to ethical public relations, stakeholder engagement and strategic communication in support of reforms aimed at modernising Customs operations, improving trade facilitation and strengthening institutional transparency.
Receiving the award, Adeniyi described the recognition as an international acknowledgement of the reform efforts of the Nigeria Customs Service, saying it would further encourage the Service to expand its adoption of emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, in public communication and stakeholder engagement.
“We have started using AI tools in our public communication, and we view this recognition as an invitation to do more. By 2027, we hope the NCS and more Nigerian agencies will feature prominently among global award recipients,” he said.
The Customs CGC said communication remained critical to the success of government reforms, stressing that citizens and stakeholders must understand the objectives of reforms, the challenges associated with their implementation and the benefits expected from them.
He explained that the NCS reform agenda was aligned with the economic policies of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, particularly measures designed to enhance Nigeria’s trade competitiveness, facilitate exports and strengthen the country’s participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Adeniyi also commended Nigeria’s achievement at the IPRA Grand Prix, describing it as a demonstration of the country’s growing participation in international strategic communication.
The Grand Prix was awarded to Image Merchants Promotion Limited (IMPR), publishers of PRNigeria and Economic Confidential, for its campaign, “AI for Crisis Communication: From Study to Strategy.”
The campaign was developed from a research project led by IMPR Chief Executive Officer, Yushau Shuaib, in collaboration with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Centre for Crisis Communication.
The project examined emerging challenges associated with artificial intelligence-driven misinformation, deepfakes and digital information disorder, subsequently translating its findings into a strategic communication initiative.
Earlier in her welcome remarks, IPRA President, Esther Cobbah, said the return of the association to Athens was significant because the city was where its Code of Conduct for public relations practice was developed 60 years ago.
She said the 2026 gathering offered an opportunity to recognise individuals, agencies and organisations that had applied the principles of ethical communication while delivering excellence in their work.
“Sixty years ago, in Athens, we built the code of ethics for public relations practice. Today, we have come back to Athens to see how we have deployed those ethics in our work,” Cobbah said.
