Customs moves to revive inter-zonal games

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, has stressed the need for improved sporting infrastructure across Customs formations, noting that the Service has made significant contributions to sports development in Nigeria.

Adeniyi stated this recently at the NCS Training College in Ikeja during the closing ceremony of the Zone A Inter-Command Games.

Adeniyi pointed out that the NCS currently has teams and athletes excelling in several sports, including volleyball, basketball, football, beach volleyball and athletics, “making improved sporting infrastructure necessary to provide officers with opportunities to develop and showcase their talents.”

“There is a need for improved sporting infrastructure across Customs formations. The Service has made significant contributions to sports development in Nigeria,” Adeniyi stressed.

Adeniyi said the planned new location of the Customs Training College in Ogun State would include suitable sporting facilities, while efforts could also be made to provide temporary facilities at the existing college to cater for recruits.

He commended the Zone A leadership and the organising committee for the quality of the competition and the colourful activities that accompanied it.

Adeniyi said the games demonstrated the three pillars of his administration, which include consolidation, collaboration and innovation, adding that the participation of other agencies reflected the collaborative relationship among agencies involved in maintaining national security.

He urged officers to carry the unity and brotherhood displayed during the competition into their daily duties.

Beyond the medals and trophies, the CGC urged officers to take home the values embedded in sporting competitions, particularly discipline, teamwork and strategy.

“The virtues of discipline, teamwork and strategy are very important takeaways from a competition like this,” Adeniyi said.

He explained that the same qualities were required in Customs operations, stressing that discipline was essential in patrol operations, teamwork was necessary for effective collaboration, while strategy was critical to achieving revenue-generation objectives.

The CGC also called for the revival and expansion of the competition beyond the zonal level, recalling that Customs had organised similar zonal games in the past and had proceeded to inter-zonal competitions.

Earlier, the Zonal Coordinator, Zone A, Assistant Comptroller-General Mohammed Babandede, expressed appreciation to the CGC for approving and giving the go-ahead for the games, noting that the competition would not have been possible without his support.

Babandede also commended the organising committee for the work put into the successful staging of the games, acknowledging the efforts that went into bringing the various commands together for the sporting event.

He said the competition should be viewed beyond the final results, stressing that everyone who participated was a winner. He urged officers to use the experience as motivation to improve themselves, strive for excellence, and come back stronger in future competitions.

Meanwhile, the Customs Police Unit has emerged champion of the football competition, defeating the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Command 1–0 in the keenly contested final.

The decisive goal came early in the first half, giving the Unit the advantage it successfully defended until the final whistle.

The victory sparked celebrations among the players and supporters as the Unit secured the football title in the sporting contest designed to promote fitness, teamwork and camaraderie among officers.

The football competition formed part of the Zone A Inter-Command Games, which brought together 16 teams from Customs commands across the zone to compete in four sporting disciplines — football, chess, badminton and table tennis.

The games, held from August 17 to September 5, 2026, at the Customs Training College, Ikeja, Lagos, were organised under the theme, “Fit to Serve, United to Lead.”