By George Ozalla
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has once again earned global recognition for excellence in communication, clinching the Golden World Award (GWA) for Impactful PR in Customs Management at the 2025 International Public Relations Association (IPRA) Gala held on Friday, October 3, 2025, at the Mövenpick Hotel, Accra, Ghana.
The award, presented by IPRA President Nataša Pavlović Bujas during the Golden World Awards Gala Night, honoured the NCS for its outstanding and innovative public relations in customs administration. The winning entry, a publication authored by Image Merchants Promotion Limited, documents the Comptroller-General of Customs’ progressive communication strategies, which have become a reference point in public relations scholarship and practice in Nigeria.
According to IPRA Secretary-General Philip Sheppard, the publication offers practical frameworks for effective communication in public institutions and highlights real-world 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 Abdullahi Maiwada, expressed deep appreciation to IPRA for the recognition. He described the honour as a validation of the Service’s commitment to professionalism, transparency, and proactive engagement with stakeholders. Maiwada said the award is a validation of the Nigeria Customs Service’s commitment to professionalism, transparency, and stakeholder engagement. He added that under the leadership of the Comptroller-General, communication has been repositioned as a strategic tool for reform and trust-building.
The latest recognition comes a year after the NCS won the prestigious GWA for Crisis Communication at the 2024 IPRA Gala held in Belgrade, Serbia. This year’s award further underscores the agency’s sustained excellence and innovation in public relations and reputation management.
The award presentation formed part of the Public Relations Knowledge Sharing Conference held from October 1 to 3, 2025, at the Accra International Conference Centre. The conference, themed “Global Realities and Innovative Communication,” drew prominent communication leaders, 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.
In his keynote address during the closing session, the President of Ghana, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, called on communication professionals to uphold integrity, ethics, and excellence in their work. He said communicators hold the power to shape narratives and influence public trust, adding that the continent needs professionals who communicate with integrity, clarity, and purpose to support national development.
Ghana’s Vice President, H.E. Jane Nana, also congratulated all the award recipients, lauding their role in advancing the frontiers of global communication and public relations practice.
The evening culminated in a historic moment as Esther Amba Numaba Cobbah, President of IPR Ghana, was inaugurated as the new President of the International Public Relations Association, becoming the first African to lead the 70-year-old global PR body. Her emergence marked a proud and symbolic milestone for the African communication community.
