WMC KICKS OFF WALE ADENIYI SECONDARY SCHOOL COMPETITION AS COMPTR. NTADI PROMISES SPONSORSHIP TO WINNERS

Students athletes engaging in five-a-side football game at the competition.

Story by Dili Utomi

The Wale Adeniyi Sports Arena around the Western Marine Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, Ibafon Apapa, Lagos was a beehive of activities Monday, 27 July 2026 as Customs Commands heads, traditional rulers, students, sports enthusiasts and media personalities gathered for the first Wale Adeniyi Secondary School Sports Competition which kicked off.

The championship was organised in partnership with the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Ajeromi-Ifelodun Chapter.

The Customs Area Controller of the Western Marine Command, Comptroller Patrick N. Ntadi made the opening speech at the competition. He encouraged all competitors to play fairly and win with the spirit of sportsmanship”. He noted that “this is an opportunity for the young ones to mould themselves into great winners”.

Dignitaries in a group photograph at the event.

The CAC added that ” Our aim is to produce smart sport individuals and take away our children from the streets. Winners will be sponsored by the Nigeria Customs Service”. He concluded.

The Olu of Iwa and Apapa Kingdom, Oba Maroof Oyekunle Oluwa encouraged all the students to be disciplined and focused on their studies as well as to “to take advantage of the opportunities provided by this competition and the promises made by Comptroller Ntadi”.

The Coordinator of the Zone A of the Nigeria Customs Service, Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs (ACG) Mohammed Babandede represented the Comptroller-General of Customs. He declared that “This competition is more than a sporting event. It is a deliberate expression of the progressive vision of our Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, whose policies on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and work-life balance have transformed how the Nigeria Customs Service engages with communities and its personnel”.

Basketballers preparing for a game at the competition.

His words “The Wale Adeniyi Sports Arena, commissioned on 11th February 2026, stands as a living testament to the “Customs Cares” initiative. Situated by the waterfront in Ibafon, it was deliberately designed as a community asset — a place where young people develop physically, mentally, and socially, breaking down barriers between institutions and the public through the universal language of sport”.

In her words of encouragement, the first Nigerian woman to ride a motorcycle through 2 continents, Deputy Comptroller of Customs Ogboru Akpevwoghene Attracta was on had to motivate the students to try and live their dreams. She encouraged them never to give up trying.

DC Ogboru urged the students to learn from hear experience as a kid who grew up in Abraka, Delta State, got her University degrees before joining the Nigeria Customs Service and recently travelling through 8,000 kilometres across 12 countries in 23 days. She said that persistence in focused hard work with the right support leads to the realisation of dreams.

The representative of the Chairperson of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Ajeromi-Ifelodun Chapter, Mrs. Morenike Akerele also spoke on the importance of public private partnerships in all works of the national life. The representative opined that through intentional collaboration in the fields of education and sports, students can realise their full potentials and also contribute to better development of the society.

Comptroller Ntadi with DC Ogboru standing besides the ‘DC AA Ogboru’ the operational boat named after her.

The occasion was also used to commission the newly acquired operational boat for the Western Marine Command named DC AA Ogboru after the lady officer who made a solo tour on a motorcycle to 12 countries in 23 days.

The week long sporting activities includes such sports as football, basketball, volleyball, chess, table tennis and scrabble with the student athletes competing in various male and female categories.

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