The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has disclosed that it received an overwhelming 573,519 applications for its recently concluded 2024/2025 recruitment exercise, which opened barely a week ago.
The exercise, approved by the Minister of Finance, Mr. Olawale Edun, sought to fill 3,927 vacancies in the Service.
This announcement was made last week, and the massive response underscores the high demand for employment opportunities in the country.
Providing an update on the recruitment figures, the NCS spokesperson, Abdullahi Maiwada, explained the breakdown of applications across various categories:
General Duty (Superintendent Cadre): 249,218 candidates with HNDs and university degrees applied.
Support Staff (Superintendent Cadre): 27,722 candidates with higher educational qualifications registered their interest.
Inspector Cadre: 115,634 applicants with NCEs or National Diplomas applied for general duty, while 12,952 opted for support staff roles.
Customs Assistants: 153,593 candidates with secondary school certificates applied for general duty positions, while 14,400 aimed for support staff roles.
Maiwada emphasized the diversity of qualifications among applicants, ranging from secondary school certificates to university degrees.
He further categorized the Customs Assistants’ applicants based on their academic standings, particularly highlighting those with basic five-credit results, including Mathematics and English.
The staggering number of applicants reflects the intense competition for the limited positions, which aim to bolster the workforce of the NCS in fulfilling its critical role in national economic and security operations.
The recruitment process is expected to proceed with shortlisting and subsequent assessments to ensure transparency and merit in the selection of candidates.