By Joy Onu
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi, has announced the release of N7.61 billion to nine Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) for the payment of retirement benefits to 4,237 former personnel, reaffirming its commitment to improving the welfare of retired officers.
According to a statement issued on Friday by the National Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Customs Service, Deputy Comptroller of Customs Abdullahi Maiwada, Adeniyi disclosed this during a dialogue with retired customs personnel held on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, noting that the funds had already been transferred to the PFAs for onward payment into the beneficiaries’ individual retirement accounts.
The breakdown showed that Access-ARM Pension Managers accounted for 1,223 beneficiaries, while Premium Pension had the highest number with 2,268 retirees. Leadway Pensions accounted for 403 beneficiaries, TrustFund Pensions 156, FCMB Pensions 144, Veritas Glanvills Pensions 28, Norrenberger Pensions 11 and Fidelity Pension Managers four, bringing the total number of beneficiaries to 4,237.”
Adeniyi said the Service must remain financially strong enough to meet its obligations to both serving officers and retirees, stressing that the welfare of personnel who devoted decades of service to the nation is critical to the future of the institution.
“The Service must remain strong and financially capable of meeting its obligations to serving officers and retirees,” he said, adding that the welfare of retired officers “cannot be separated from the future of the institution.”
The Comptroller-General also urged retired personnel to sustain constructive engagement with the Service, saying regular interaction would help address concerns and reduce the spread of misinformation.
“I acknowledged your concerns and suggestions raised, and it is in view of this we called for this dialogue to promote better understanding and reduce the effect of rumours and unofficial information on the relationship between the Service and its retired personnel,” Adeniyi said.
Also present at the meeting were the Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs in charge of Human Resources Development, DCG Tijjani Abe, and other members of the Customs Management Team, who assured the retirees that issues raised during the dialogue would receive due consideration at the Service’s Board and Management meetings.
The retirees commended the Comptroller-General and the management for providing an opportunity for direct engagement and appealed for the dialogue to be sustained to strengthen the relationship between serving officers and retired personnel.
The development comes as the Federal Government continues efforts to improve the welfare of pensioners through a review of the statutory provisions governing pensions, including Section 15(4) of the Pension Reform Act 2014, in line with Section 173(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
