as Ag CGC Leads Officers On 5 Kilometers Marathon Exercise
ZAINAB JUNAID
As one of his strategic approach to enhance physical and mental fitness of officers and men of the Nigeria Customs Service(NCS), Acting Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi MFR, has led officers and men of the Service, including Members of the Management Team, Representatives of Military and Paramilitary Institutions, to a marathon route march.
The trekking exercise, themed “Work-Life Balance: Balancing For A Better Tomorrow”, commenced in the early hours of Saturday, 23 September 2023, from Customs Headquarters Wuse Zone 3 to the newly built Customs House in Maitama Area, in Abuja - the Federal Capital Territory.
Speaking after the marathon route march, the Ag. CGC posited that the exercise was aimed at keeping officers physically and mentally fit to enable them face their constitutional duties effectively, emphasizing that “we have gathered here to launch a transformative initiative that reflects the core values of our beloved Service — the Work-Life Balance Initiative.”
He explained that the physical exercise attests to the Customs' commitment to consolidate key areas of national development, knotting ties with stakeholders and embracing technological innovations.“As officers and men, we come under lots of pressure to fulfil various obligations, and most of the time, these pressures come from our workplaces — emanating from the nature of our tasks, which are usually physically and mentally demanding; thus, the exercise will help reduce such pressure for us and enhance our productivity at work,” he said.
To him,"the Nigeria Customs Service had, over the past 15 years, established 32 clinics and medical centres all over the country to take care of the officers' health, but as we embark on this journey, it is vital to understand the essence of this initiative and why we need to flag it off."
CGC Adewale also urged the officers to always engaged themselves in extra curricular activities such as jogging, mountain hiking, dancing, among other activities and to embrace to embrace the work-life balance initiative as it will continue to improve their health and also contribute to enhancing the efficiency of the Service.
The Customs Chief also explaimed how the exercise will facilitate the unity and love between Customs officers across the federation, saying that “participating in this brisk walking exercise fosters friendship and unity and sense of shared purpose amongst us.”
The brisk walking exercise was attended by Deputy Comptroller-Generals of Customs in charge of different Units, Assistant Comptroller-Generals, and all Comptrollers down to Assistant of Customs III. Other participants who graced the ‘Walk-Life Balance’ exercise were from the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry, Nigerian Correctional Center, Immigration Service, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, and Nigeria Army.
