Nigeria Customs Holds 7th Medical Retreat in Katsina, Launches Free Healthcare Outreach

By Zainab Uzomah|Abuja

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Medical Unit has commenced its 7th Annual Medical Corps Retreat in Katsina State, with a focus on strengthening healthcare delivery and improving the welfare of officers and personnel across the Service.

The five-day retreat, which began on Monday, May 11, 2026, is themed “Operational Wellbeing: Protecting Health to Protect Borders.”

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, represented by the Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of Human Resource Development, Tijjani Abe, said the retreat would provide a platform for professional engagement, policy review, strategic planning and knowledge sharing among medical personnel and stakeholders.

He reaffirmed the Service’s commitment to improving healthcare delivery and staff welfare, stressing that a healthy workforce remains essential to operational efficiency and institutional effectiveness.

“A healthy workforce remains the backbone of operational efficiency, productivity, and institutional effectiveness,” he said.

The CGC also commended the government and people of Katsina State for hosting the retreat and encouraged participants to strengthen professional relationships and exchange ideas that would improve healthcare services within the Service.

In his welcome address, the Head of the Customs Medical Unit, Comptroller Ethelbert Nnaji, said the annual retreat provides an opportunity to review the performance of the Customs Medical Corpand develop recommendations to improve healthcare delivery across the Service.

He disclosed that Katsina State was selected as the venue because of the extensive Customs operations in the state and the need to strengthen collaboration with host communities.

Nnaji further revealed that the Service would conduct a free medical outreach in Daura as part of its corporate social responsibility activities during the retreat.

“We intend to explore options, orthodox practices, and technological innovations that will bring quality healthcare closer to our officers wherever they operate,” he stated.

Declaring the retreat open, Governor Umar Dikko Radda of Katsina State, represented by the Commissioner for Health, Musa Adamu Funtua, commended the Nigeria Customs Service forprioritising the health and welfare of its personnel.

He also praised the leadership of the Comptroller-General of Customs for promoting people-centred policies aimed at strengthening institutional care and operational effectiveness.

“A healthy workforce is essential to effective service delivery and the attainment of organisational goals and objectives,” he said.

The governor’s representative further acknowledged the cordial relationship between the NCS and the people of Katsina State, while appreciating the contributions of health experts and facilitators from Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital and other institutions.

The retreat featured paper presentations by medical experts from across the country, aimed at equipping participants with modern healthcare knowledge and innovative approaches to service delivery.

Senior Customs officers, Area Controllers from Zone “B”, medical professionals and other stakeholders attended the opening ceremony.

The retreat is expected to end with a large-scale free medical outreach in Daura and visits to selected health facilities for assessment and benchmarking purposes.