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By Paul Williams
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has deepened its collaboration with the media in the South‑South to strengthen public trust, drive ongoing service reforms and curb smuggling in the region.
National Public Relations Officer, Deputy Comptroller Abdullahi Maiwada, while addressing journalists and Customs PROs at the 2026 PR Conference — Zone ‘C’ Media Parley in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, called for deeper service‑media synergy to promote transparency and support reforms aimed at boosting trade facilitation.
Maiwada said trust remains the foundation on which the Customs Service operates, adding that the media plays a strategic role in shaping public perception and communicating government policies to citizens.
He said the service has tightened measures to curb smuggling of banned items, such as small arms and hard drugs, through land and sea borders. Maiwada said part of these measures — which include deployment of modern technology and intelligence gathering — underscore the Comptroller‑General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi’s efforts to achieve the service’s operational mandate.
He stressed that the success of these reforms requires accurate, timely and responsible dissemination of information by the media.
“The media serves as the bridge through which government policies, customs procedures, trade regulations and enforcement activities are communicated to stakeholders and the general public. This can only be achieved through balanced reportage,” Maiwada said.
He urged journalists to sustain constructive engagement with the Customs Service to promote public awareness, support economic growth, enhance border security and advance the Federal Government’s broader development goals.
Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for PR Week 2026, Chief Superintendent Emmanuel Tangwa, said the media engagement provides an opportunity to share the NCS’s achievements, clarify policies, address misconceptions, respond to legitimate concerns and reinforce its commitment to accountability.
He said the gathering of Customs public relations officers and journalists reflects the service’s unwavering commitment to transparency, professionalism, stakeholder engagement and national development.
“Today, we are gathered not merely as practitioners of communication or partners in information dissemination, but as critical stakeholders in shaping the narrative of Nigeria’s economic security, trade facilitation, revenue generation and national development,” Tangwa said.
“This relationship between the Nigeria Customs Service and the media remains indispensable in building public trust and promoting informed national discourse.”
He noted that the significance of the media parley “lies in its ability to strengthen bridges between the Nigeria Customs Service and the public through open, honest and constructive dialogue. In an era where information travels at unprecedented speed, transparency is no longer optional; it is imperative.
“We can ensure the Nigerian people receive accurate, balanced and timely information about the activities of this Service. This gathering is particularly historic because it is the first strategic media parley hosted by a National Public Relations Officer for the Southeast and South‑South geopolitical zones of the country. Hosting this landmark event in Port Harcourt is both symbolic and strategic.
“As one of Nigeria’s foremost maritime and commercial hubs, the South‑South occupies a pivotal position in international trade, maritime security and national economic prosperity. Bringing this important national conversation to the sea demonstrates the Nigeria Customs Service’s recognition of the immense contribution of this region to the nation’s economic growth,” he said.
Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Rivers State Council, Paul Bazia, said the event highlighted the relationship between the media and the Customs and their shared objective of promoting transparency and national development.
He said the Rivers NUJ had shifted its focus from crisis reporting to development journalism, adding that strategic communication must be anchored on truth, openness and mutual understanding.
“Our responsibility is to communicate truth and be transparent so that we can build and sustain trust,” he said.
Bazia assured the Customs of the media’s commitment to ensuring timely, accurate and responsible dissemination of information.
Meanwhile, Acting Controller of the NCS Eastern Marine Command, Deputy Comptroller Esien Etim Esiet, whose command patrols the nation’s eastern waterways, listed illegally refined petroleum products, endangered species and hard drugs among the most‑smuggled items in the region.
Esiet noted that waterways remain a favoured route for smugglers, especially in areas with weak or nonexistent security coverage.
“I just came back from Oron, where I went to auction seized petroleum products. So almost everything goes through the water. The smuggler wants a way out. The only ways are either by land or by water. If he sees that the water is quicker for him and it’s a little bit security‑free, he goes through the water,” he said.
