Customs Spotlights B’Odogwu, Digital Innovation, Strategic Communication Reforms at ACSPN Conference
Customs Spotlights B’Odogwu, Digital Innovation, Strategic Communication Reforms at ACSPN Conference
The Nigeria Customs Service ,NCS, has shown the pivotal role of strategic communication in driving institutional reforms, facilitating legitimate trade, enhancing revenue generation and strengthening stakeholder engagement, with particular emphasis on its flagship B’Odogwu digital modernisation platform.
The National Public Relations Officer of the Service, DC Abdullahi Maiwada PhD, made this known on Wednesday, 2 September 2026, while representing the Comptroller General of Customs, CGC Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, PhD at the 13th Annual Conference of the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria ,ACSPN.
The well attended programme took place at the National Open University of Nigeria ,NOUN, Abuja.
In his presentation, DC Maiwada stressed that communication remains an indispensable instrument for translating institutional reforms and technological innovations into tangible outcomes. He stressed that even the most sophisticated reforms could fall short of their objectives if stakeholders were not adequately informed, carried along and engaged.
“Our critical role in trade facilitation, revenue generation and anti-smuggling cannot be effective without effective communication,” he said.
He explained that the NCS continues to leverage technology, innovation and strategic partnerships to reposition its operations in line with contemporary demands, identifying B’Odogwu as a major pillar of the Service’s digital transformation agenda.
According to him, the platform represents an innovative approach to trade processes and Customs administration, with its architecture and operational model attracting growing attention beyond Nigeria.
He added that effective communication is essential to ensuring that stakeholders understand not only the functionality of such reforms, but also their broader implications for trade facilitation, compliance and national economic development.
The Customs spokesman further highlighted the Service’s “Town and Gown” initiative, describing it as a deliberate effort to bridge the traditional divide between academic scholarship and professional practice in strategic communication. He disclosed that the initiative had already commenced at Bayero University, Kano, as well as in Port Harcourt, with plans to expand and deepen academic engagement with the Service in 2027.
Maiwada maintained that sustained collaboration with communication scholars and professionals would enable the NCS to tap into contemporary research, emerging communication technologies and professional expertise, while simultaneously giving academic institutions greater exposure to the practical realities of Customs operations and institutional communication.
The conference, which attracted communication scholars, media professionals and institutional stakeholders from across the country, provided a platform for critical reflection on the rapidly evolving communication landscape and the implications of emerging technologies for democracy, governance and electoral processes ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In his opening remarks, the President of ACSPN, Professor Rotimi Olatunji, emphasised the centrality of informed citizens, credible media and transparent institutions to the sustenance of constitutional democracy.
A keynote presentation delivered on behalf of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, Professor Sani Adam, similarly highlighted emerging threats confronting electoral communication, including deepfakes, AI-generated content and candidate impersonation.
The NCS participation at the conference built on an earlier strategic engagement on Monday, 31 August 2026, when the Service hosted the leadership of ACSPN at its National Headquarters in Abuja.
The meeting explored areas of collaboration in digital communication, media engagement, professional capacity development and the strengthening of institutional ties between academia and the Customs Service.
