The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has reacted to the list in circulation over its recruitment for the Superintendent Cadre.

In a statement on Wednesday, the service said all official updates regarding the recruitment exercise were communicated directly to shortlisted applicants through the NCS Recruitment Update Portal.

“The Service wishes to categorically state that the publication did not originate from the Nigeria Customs Service or any of its authorised communication channels.”

“Members of the public, particularly applicants in the ongoing recruitment exercise, are therefore advised to disregard the circulating information in its entirety.

“For clarity, the NCS recruitment process commenced with an official advertisement on 27th December 2024, through which a total of 573,523 applications were received across the Superintendent, Inspectorate, and Customs Assistant cadres. Following a rigorous documentary screening, 286,697 candidates were shortlisted and invited to participate in the first phase of the Computer-Based Test (CBT), which was conducted in batches to ensure fairness and system efficiency.

“While candidates from all cadres participated in the initial CBT, only successful applicants under the Superintendent Cadre were invited to proceed to the second phase of the test.

“This stage, which will hold across designated centres within the six geopolitical zones, aligns with candidates’ states of origin and forms part of the Service’s commitment to transparency, merit, and inclusiveness in its recruitment process.”

The Service said it remains firmly committed to a free, fair, and credible selection process, consistent with global best practices and in line with the principle of Federal Character.

Earlier, the Majority Leader of the Kano State House of Assembly, Hon. Lawan Hussaini Dala, had raised alarm over what he described as a gross injustice and imbalance in the ongoing recruitment exercise by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), alleging that the process favoured the southern part of the country.

Speaking during plenary on Wednesday, Hon. Dala said the recruitment exercise violated the principles of Federal Character.

He said whereas there ought to be fairness and equal representation in federal appointments and employments, the recruitment was designed to favour a section of the country against the other.

“I am on this floor to challenge the way and manner the recruitment exercise is going on at the Nigeria Customs Service. To us, there is injustice, the Federal Character that was saddled with the responsibility of ensuring equitable sharing of rights wasn’t considered,” he stated.

According to him, a total of 1,785 candidates were recruited nationwide, but the distribution of the slots heavily favoured states in the South-West, particularly Lagos and Ogun States, which he said received a disproportionately higher share.

“Lagos alone got 207, Ogun 145, Ondo 132, Osun 127, Oyo 108, and Ekiti, which is not more than Nasarawa Local Government in Kano, got 93. Altogether, the South-West got 812 slots, more than half of the total number of recruits in the entire country,” Dala lamented.

He contrasted this with the allocations given to states in the North-West, describing the disparity as “unacceptable and unjustifiable.”

“In the North-West, Kano got only 31, Katsina 20, Jigawa 18, and Zamfara 16. Altogether, the entire region got only about 7 percent of the total number recruited,” he said.

The lawmaker further revealed that across the northern region, only 651 slots were allotted, while the bulk of the opportunities went to states in the southern part of the country.

The Speaker of the House had directed the relevant House Committee to investigate the recruitment figures and report back for further legislative action. (Weekend Trust)

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