Customs renovates Ife Girls High School, offers university scholarships to top students

By Onu Okorie

Nigeria Customs Service NCS has commissioned the fully renovated Ife Girls High School, Ile-Ife, Osun State, as part of its expanding Corporate Social Responsibility CSR intervention under the Customs Cares initiative.
The project was commissioned on Monday, September 14, 2026, as the NCS renewed its commitment to supporting education and improving learning environments in communities across the country.
Speaking to the students, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, urged them to remain focused on their studies, describing education as a critical pathway to a better future.
“Education is the passport that you need for a better life, for a better future, not just for you, but for your parents, your community, and the country,” Adeniyi told the students.
He challenged the students to take advantage of the improved learning environment and strive for academic excellence.
The Customs chief also announced university scholarships for the school’s three best-performing students, saying the gesture was intended to encourage the students to reciprocate the agency’s investment in their education through outstanding academic performance.
“What this means is that I have thrown the ball into your court. I now want you to reward me back,” he said.
Adeniyi explained that the renovation formed part of the wider Customs Cares CSR programme being implemented by the Service in different parts of the country.
Beyond physical renovation
Osun State Commissioner for Education, Dipo Eluwole, described the intervention as a significant milestone for education in the state, stressing that its impact went beyond the rehabilitation of buildings.
“This is indeed a comprehensive intervention. It addresses the school’s educational, administrative, sanitary, recreational, environmental, and worker needs,” Eluwole said.
He said the project demonstrated an understanding that students could only learn effectively when their physical environment also supported their health, comfort and overall well-being.
The commissioner commended the NCS for investing in the school and contributing to the improvement of educational infrastructure in the state.
In her welcome address, the Principal of Ife Girls High School, Martina Akinremi, expressed appreciation to the Customs Service for investing in the future of the students.
She pledged that the school would ensure the renovated facilities were properly maintained and utilised to their full potential.
The intervention adds education infrastructure to the growing range of community-focused activities being undertaken by the NCS under its Customs Cares initiative, reinforcing the Service’s broader effort to complement its core customs and revenue responsibilities with social investment.
With the scholarship component attached to the renovation, the initiative also links infrastructure development with academic performance, creating an incentive for students to maximise the opportunities provided by the improved learning environment.