The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, has received a Special Award of Excellence at the 2026 International Public Relations Association (IPRA) Golden World Awards in Athens, Greece.
Read also: Customs PR Conference Bridges Academia, Practice, Builds Skills
The recognition is to honour the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) for its strategic communication, stakeholder engagement and ethical public relations practices in supporting ongoing reforms.
The award highlights the Service’s efforts to improve public understanding of initiatives aimed at modernising Customs operations, facilitating trade and strengthening institutional transparency.
Receiving the award, Adeniyi described it as international recognition of the NCS reform agenda, saying it would encourage the Service to further explore 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.
Adeniyi said effective communication was essential to the success of government reforms, as citizens and stakeholders needed to understand their objectives, implementation challenges and expected benefits.
Read also: Nigeria, Botswana Seek Stronger Bilateral Economic Cooperation
He added that the NCS reform agenda aligns with the economic policies of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, particularly efforts to improve Nigeria’s trade competitiveness, facilitate exports and strengthen the country’s participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The Customs boss also celebrated Nigeria’s success at the IPRA Grand Prix, which was won by Image Merchants Promotion Limited (IMPR), publishers of PRNigeria and Economic Confidential.
IMPR won the Grand Prix for its campaign, “AI for Crisis Communication: From Study to Strategy,” which emerged from a research project led by its Chief Executive Officer, Yushau Shuaib, in collaboration with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Centre for Crisis Communication.
The project examined challenges associated with AI-driven misinformation, deepfakes and digital information disorder and translated its findings into a strategic communication initiative.
Earlier, IPRA President Esther Cobbah said the return to Athens was significant because the city was where the association developed its Code of Conduct for public relations practice 60 years ago.
Read also: Customs PR Conference Bridges Academia, Practice, Builds Skills
She said the 2026 gathering provided an opportunity to celebrate individuals, agencies and organisations that had upheld ethical communication while demonstrating excellence in their work.
