Joel Ajayi

The Comptroller General of Nigerian Customs, Alhaji Bashir Adewale Adeniyi has revealed that it’s a deliberate policy of Nigeria Customs to develop sports toward the growth and development of Nigerian Youth.

For over two weeks, the Nigeria Volleyball Federation NVF, in collaboration with the Comptroller-General of Customs has put in place the National Volleyball Premier League for Men and Women tourney first Phase.

Adeniyi stated this on Saturday at the indoor basketball hall of Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja when he watched the Nigeria Customs Male team that defeated Adamawa Spikers in 3 straight sets.

Speaking shortly after the Game, the Customs Boss said:  It’s a deliberate effort by our organization it is deliberate because there is a lot of mileage that we can get from Sporting Excellence. 

“Customs do have a very rich history of excellent performance in sports. We’ve produced national and international champions before in boxing, in athletics.

“Of course, our volleyball team is doing very well. They participated in the African Championships sometimes. Our basketball team is doing very, very well.

“We used to play in the National Football League. So we have a very rich history of very, very excellent performance in sports. This is why we found it very, very necessary, not only to encourage our athletes within the Customs but also to extend our support and sponsorship to federations that seek assistance from us.

“I used to participate in the volleyball tournaments way back when I was much younger. It used to be a very thriving competition then. It used to be the avenue for us to pick the best of our athletes to represent us in national and international competitions.”

Speaking on the importance of sports to the officer. He expressed that once the officers are fit it will increase their performance.

“It’s very simple. Every sporting activity has some elements that make it thrive. You need discipline, you need to work in a team, you need strength, you need stability, and you need intelligence. These are all elements that we need even in our regular day-to-day activities as Customs officers. 

“So, if they succeed in imbibing all of these virtues while playing their various games, it becomes easier for them to make very good customs officers or very good paramilitary officers.

“So this is why we encourage our talents, those in our fold, to ensure that they give their best when they are competing in these kinds of events. 

“But I’ve also observed that in the last two, three years, there’s been a lull in that. We felt when the federation approached us to assist, we were more than glad to do it.” He said.

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