Nigeria Customs CG Adeniyi Receives IPRA Golden World Award for Strategic Communication

Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Comptroller-General, Adewale Adeniyi, has received a Special Award of Excellence at the 2026 International Public Relations Association (IPRA) Golden World Awards in Athens, Greece.

The recognition, presented on Friday, September 25, 2026, honours the Nigeria Customs Service for its strategic approach to public communication, stakeholder engagement and ethical public relations in advancing ongoing institutional reforms.

The award also recognises the Service’s efforts to improve public understanding of reforms aimed at modernising Customs operations, facilitating trade and strengthening institutional transparency.

Receiving the award, Adeniyi described the recognition as an international endorsement of the NCS reform agenda, saying it would motivate the Service to further embrace emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), in its communication and stakeholder engagement activities.

«“We have started using AI tools in our public communication, and we view this recognition as an invitation to do more. By 2027, we hope the NCS and more Nigerian agencies will feature prominently among global award recipients,” he said.»

The Customs boss stressed the importance of effective communication to the success of government reforms, noting that citizens and other stakeholders needed to understand the objectives of reforms, the challenges associated with their implementation and the benefits expected from them.

According to him, the NCS reform agenda is also aligned with the economic policies of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, particularly initiatives focused on improving Nigeria’s trade competitiveness, promoting exports and strengthening the country’s participation in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Nigeria wins IPRA Grand Prix

Adeniyi also congratulated Nigeria on winning the IPRA Grand Prix, describing the achievement as evidence of the country’s growing presence in international strategic communication.

The Grand Prix was awarded to Image Merchants Promotion Limited (IMPR), publishers of PRNigeria and Economic Confidential, for its campaign, “AI for Crisis Communication: From Study to Strategy.”

The campaign was developed from a research project led by IMPR Chief Executive Officer, Yushau Shuaib, in collaboration with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Centre for Crisis Communication.

The research examined emerging challenges associated with artificial intelligence, including misinformation, deepfakes and digital information disorder, and translated its findings into a strategic communication campaign.

IPRA returns to Athens

Earlier, the President of IPRA, Esther Cobbah, highlighted the historical significance of the 2026 gathering in Athens.

She noted that Athens was where the association developed its Code of Conduct for public relations practice six decades ago.

According to Cobbah, the return to the city provided an opportunity to celebrate individuals, agencies and organisations that have applied ethical communication principles while delivering excellence in public relations.

«“Sixty years ago, in Athens, we built the code of ethics for public relations practice. Today, we have come back to Athens to see how we have deployed those ethics in our work,” she said.»

The 2026 IPRA Golden World Awards brought together public relations professionals and organisations from different parts of the world to recognise excellence in strategic communication and ethical public relations practice.