The award, presented on Friday, 31 July 2026, recognises organisations whose interventions demonstrate measurable, sustainable and community-focused contributions to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Customs Cares emerged as a standout initiative for its interventions across key areas including education, healthcare, food security and environmental sustainability. Through the programme, the NCS has expanded its role beyond its traditional responsibilities of revenue collection, trade facilitation and border security to include direct interventions aimed at improving the welfare of communities across the country.
Receiving the award on behalf of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, the Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection, Timi Bomodi, described the recognition as an important milestone in the Service's ongoing transformation.
“This award is both humbling and inspiring. It affirms our belief that public institutions create their greatest value not only by fulfilling their statutory mandates, but by improving lives and strengthening the communities they serve,” he said.
Bomodi said the recognition demonstrated that institutions could build public confidence when their activities produced tangible benefits for the communities in which they operate.
According to the NCS, Customs Cares has so far reached more than 10 million Nigerians across 12 states and the Federal Capital Territory through a range of interventions. These include the renovation of schools, healthcare support, provision of clean water, food assistance and environmental projects under the Green Borders Initiative.
Adeniyi attributed the achievement to the administration's Renewed Hope Agenda under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying the programme had provided an avenue for the Service to translate its commitment to social responsibility into practical community-based interventions.
“Beyond every classroom renovated, every borehole commissioned and every tree planted is something even more enduring; trust,” Adeniyi added.
The Customs Cares initiative has therefore become an important component of the NCS's effort to strengthen its relationship with communities, particularly in areas where its operations have a direct impact on people's livelihoods.
The initiative's environmental component has also placed greater emphasis on sustainability, with the Green Borders Initiative forming part of efforts to promote environmental protection while encouraging communities to participate in activities that contribute to a healthier and more sustainable environment.
The award ceremony also provided an opportunity for participants to highlight the importance of international cooperation in addressing environmental and developmental challenges.
The Governor of Tharaka Nithi County, Kenya, Muthomi Njuki, stressed the need for countries and institutions to work together in confronting the global climate crisis.
“No country could solve the crisis alone, but that through accountability, partnership, innovation and shared responsibility, the world could become greener, safer and more prosperous,” he said.
For the NCS, the international recognition also represents an acknowledgement of the people behind the Customs Cares programme and the communities that have benefited from it.
The Comptroller in charge of CSR, Mbwiduffu Ibrahim, said the award would encourage the Service to expand its interventions and deepen its commitment to communities.
“For a long time, we worked believing that the impact in our communities was reward enough. Today, this international recognition tells us that those efforts have not gone unnoticed,” she said.
The organisers specifically recognised the NCS for its innovative Hub-and-Spoke Community Activation Model, which they identified as a key feature of the Customs Cares initiative.
The model is designed to strengthen community engagement by creating a structured approach through which interventions can be delivered and their impact extended to surrounding communities.
The recognition adds an international dimension to the NCS's transformation agenda, reinforcing its evolving image as a modern Customs administration that seeks to balance its core statutory responsibilities with broader social and environmental commitments.
While revenue generation, trade facilitation and border security remain central to the Service's mandate, the Commonwealth Environment and CSR Gold Award underscores the growing importance of sustainable development and community engagement in its institutional agenda.
With more than 10 million Nigerians reportedly reached through Customs Cares, the NCS now faces the task of sustaining the momentum, expanding its geographical reach and ensuring that its community interventions remain measurable, transparent and responsive to local needs.
The Glasgow recognition could consequently serve not only as an international accolade for the Service but also as an incentive to deepen its investment in initiatives that place community welfare, environmental sustainability and public trust alongside its traditional Customs responsibilities.