By Oluwakemi Kindness
Women recorded a slightly higher selection rate than men in the latest Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) recruitment exercise, despite accounting for a smaller share of total applications.
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this on Tuesday while announcing the final list of 3,852 successful candidates selected from 573,680 applications in the 2024–2025 recruitment exercise.
According to Adeniyi, 121,479 women applied for the exercise, with 839 selected, representing a selection ratio of one successful candidate for every 144 applicants.
In comparison, 452,198 men applied, with 3,011 selected, translating to a ratio of one in 150.
Women accounted for 21.2 per cent of total applicants but made up 21.8 per cent of the successful candidates, giving them a slightly higher selection rate.
“The exercise selected women at a rate marginally above the rate at which they applied,” Adeniyi said.
A breakdown by cadre showed that female applicants had a higher selection rate in two of the three cadres.
In the Customs Assistant Cadre, one in every 54 female applicants was selected, compared with one in every 81 male applicants.
Similarly, in the Inspectorate Cadre, one in every 269 female applicants was selected, compared with one in every 375 male applicants.
However, male applicants had a higher selection rate in the Superintendent Cadre, where one in every 210 men was selected, compared with one in every 238 women.
Adeniyi said the overall gender distribution was influenced by the nature of the available vacancies, noting that about 85 per cent of the positions were in core enforcement and general-duty roles.
These include anti-smuggling patrols, border operations and field examination, which he described as physically demanding and often carrying personal risks.
He explained that the roles attracted proportionally fewer applications from women than specialist and support positions.
According to him, women represented numbers closer to their share of the applicant pool in the specialist and support streams.
Adeniyi said the Customs Service was not satisfied with the current representation and would make a deliberate effort to attract more qualified women into its enforcement stream in future recruitment exercises.
“The customs administration that reflects the country itself is indeed a stronger administration,” he said.
The latest recruitment exercise attracted 573,680 applications for just 3,852 positions, representing an overall selection rate of 0.67 per cent.
The successful candidates comprise 1,275 in the Superintendent Cadre, 367 in the Inspectorate Cadre and 2,210 in the Customs Assistant Cadre.
