By ZAKAA LAZARUS
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has once again earned global recognition for excellence in communication as it received the Golden World Award (GWA) for Impactful PR in Customs Management at the 2025 International Public Relations Association (IPRA) Gala held on Friday, 3 October 2025, at the Mövenpick Hotel in Accra, Ghana.
Presented by IPRA President Nataša Pavlović Bujas during the Golden World Awards Gala Night, the international PR body recognised the Nigeria Customs Service for its Impactful Public Relations in Customs Management.
The winning entry, a publication authored by Image Merchants Promotion Limited, documents the Comptroller-General of Customs’ progressive communication strategies and has since evolved into a strategic framework for public relations scholarship in Nigeria.
According to Philip Sheppard, Secretary-General of IPRA, the publication provides practical strategies for organisations. It showcases real-life applications of PR leadership drawn from the reforms of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR.
Receiving the award on behalf of the Service, the National Public Relations Officer, Assistant Comptroller of Customs (AC) Abdullahi Maiwada, expressed profound appreciation to IPRA for the recognition, stating that it reinforces the Service’s vision for institutional credibility and proactive communication.
“This award is a validation of the Nigeria Customs Service’s commitment to professionalism, transparency, and stakeholder engagement,” Maiwada said. “Under the leadership of the Comptroller-General, we have repositioned communication as a strategic tool for reform and trust-building.”
It will be recalled that the Service was earlier honoured in 2024 with the prestigious GWA for Crisis Communication at the IPRA Gala in Belgrade, Serbia. This year’s award builds on that feat, highlighting NCS’s consistent innovation in communication and reputation management.
The award ceremony formed part of the Public Relations Knowledge Sharing Conference held from Wednesday, 1st to Friday, 3rd October 2025, at the Accra International Conference Centre. The conference, themed “Global Realities and Innovative Communication,” was attended by leading communication experts, including Dr Ike Neliaku, President of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR); Nataša Pavlović Bujas, President of IPRA; Arik Karani, President of the African Public Relations Association (APRA); and Esther Amba Numaba Cobbah, President of the Institute of Public Relations (IPR), Ghana, among other PR professionals across Africa.
At the closing session of the conference earlier on Friday, the President of Ghana, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, urged public relations professionals to uphold the highest standards of ethics and competence in their practice.
“As communicators, you hold the power to shape narratives and influence public trust,” President Mahama said. “Our continent needs professionals who communicate with integrity, clarity, and purpose to support national development.”
Also speaking at the Gala night, Ghana’s Vice President, H.E. Jane Nana, congratulated all the awardees, commending their contributions to advancing strategic communication globally.
To crown the night, Esther Amba Numaba Cobbah, President of the Institute of Public Relations (IPR), Ghana, assumed the mantle as the new President of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA), succeeding Nataša Pavlović Bujas. Her emergence as the first African to lead the 70-year-old global body marks a historic milestone and a moment of pride for the continent’s communication professionals.
