The Nigeria Customs Service will be deploying an information technology strategy to ensure transparency in its ongoing recruitment processes, The PUNCH has learnt.

A source at the Service exclusively told our correspondent on Saturday that the list of the candidates to sit for the computer-based test would be generated by an automated system.

“It is an automated system that would generate a list for CBT,” the source said.

Last week, The PUNCH reported that the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, revealed that the Federal Government has approved the recruitment of 3,927 Customs officers.

Edun said that the contribution of the Nigeria Customs Service was crucial in actualising Nigeria’s proposed N48tn 2025 budget.

According to a statement on Sunday by the National Public Relations Officer of the NCS, Abdullahi Maiwada, Edun stated this during the 61st quarterly board meeting of the service recently held in Abuja.

He also commended the Service’s pivotal role in boosting Nigeria’s economic recovery.

Maiwada stressed that the meeting followed President Bola Tinubu’s presentation of the 2025 budget to the National Assembly, tagged “A Budget of Restoration.”

Speaking further, Edun said, “The budget projects N35tn in revenue, with the NCS expected to play a critical role.”

He added that the agency had generated over N5tn by November 2024, linking the success to reforms introduced by President Tinubu.

“The NCS and other revenue bodies have performed remarkably well,” he said.

The real government’s plans to secure concessionary loans, grants, and development support to fund the remaining N13tn.

Edun also noted that the board reviewed the NCS’s 2024 achievements, approving the recruitment of 3,927 officers and granting special promotions to top-performing personnel to bridge gaps and enhance trade facilitation.

“The NCS has excelled in suppressing smuggling and fostering trade, which is crucial for growth and job creation,” he added.

Meanwhile, as a follow-up to the earlier announcement by the minister, the Service on Friday opened applications for recruitment of officers into various positions in its Superintendent, Inspector, and Customs Assistant cadres.

The Service, while announcing the recruitment exercise, warned Nigerians to be wary of scammers who may want to use the exercise to defraud them.