573,680 Nigerians applied — only 0.67% make the cut!
After 20 agonising months of waiting, the Nigeria Customs Service has finally released the final list of successful candidates for its 2024/2025 recruitment exercise.
But for the vast majority of applicants, the news is a crushing blow.
Out of a staggering 573,680 Nigerians who applied for the available positions, only 3,852 made it.
That means just one applicant in every 148 secured a place.
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, announced the release of the list on Tuesday in Abuja, bringing an end to a recruitment process that began way back in December 2024.
Adeniyi admitted that the exercise took much longer than planned and apologised to applicants, parents and guardians who had endured the long wait.
“This exercise has taken longer than any of us intended,” he said.
WHY THE LONG DELAY?
According to the Customs boss, the sheer volume of applications created a huge administrative burden.
Every application had to be screened, verified and assessed before candidates could proceed through the recruitment stages.
Applicants also underwent a computer-based examination, while their credentials were checked against the national identity database.
Where records failed to match, further verification was carried out.
Adeniyi said retirements and staff turnover among senior officers also affected the Service’s capacity to complete the exercise earlier.
But he insisted that the lengthy process was necessary to ensure that only properly screened candidates emerged.
THE BIG NUMBERS
The successful candidates were drawn from three entry cadres.
1,275 candidates made the Superintendent Cadre.
367 secured places in the Inspectorate Cadre.
The largest number — 2,210 — were selected for the Customs Assistant Cadre.
The competition was fiercest in the Inspectorate category.
A massive 128,604 applicants fought for just 367 positions — meaning roughly one person emerged from every 350 applicants.
For the Superintendent Cadre, 276,995 Nigerians battled for 1,275 slots, while 168,081 applicants competed for 2,210 Customs Assistant positions.
560,000+ MISS OUT!
For the more than 560,000 applicants whose names are not on the list, Adeniyi urged them not to give up.
He said many unsuccessful applicants may have met the requirements but simply lost out because the number of available positions was extremely limited.
“You were not rejected; you were unlucky in a field of extraordinary competition,” he said.
He urged them to keep their credentials updated and prepare to apply again, hinting that another recruitment opportunity could come sooner than expected.
NO STATE LEFT BEHIND
Adeniyi said the recruitment followed the Federal Character principle, with all 36 states represented.
Each state received 105 positions — 35 in the Superintendent Cadre, 10 in the Inspectorate Cadre and 60 in the Customs Assistant Cadre.
The Federal Capital Territory received 72 positions.
By geopolitical zones, the North-West received 735 slots, while the North-Central got 702, including the FCT allocation.
The North-East, South-South and South-West each received 630 positions, while the South-East got 525.
839 WOMEN MAKE IT
Women secured 839 of the 3,852 positions, representing 21.8 per cent of the intake.
A total of 121,479 women applied, with 839 eventually selected.
Among male applicants, 452,198 applications produced 3,011 successful candidates.
Adeniyi said Customs would make greater efforts to attract qualified women, particularly into enforcement roles, in future recruitment exercises.
NEW CUSTOMS OFFICERS ARE YOUNG
The new intake is also remarkably young.
The median age of the successful candidates is 26 years, according to the CG.
Adeniyi said the recruits would play a major role in the future of the Service as Customs moves towards greater use of technology, data and automated risk management.
BEWARE OF JOB SCAMMERS!
With the list finally out, Customs is warning applicants to keep their eyes open for fraudsters.
Adeniyi stressed that recruitment into the Nigeria Customs Service is completely free.
Nobody should pay money to secure a position.
“Anyone who solicits payment on our behalf is a criminal and should be reported to the Service and to the security agencies,” he warned.
Successful candidates will be contacted through the details supplied during their applications and have been advised to rely only on official Customs communication.
For the 3,852 successful candidates, the 20-month wait is finally over.
For the hundreds of thousands who missed out, the long road to another opportunity begins.
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