BORDER COMMUNITIES DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (BCDA) COMMENDS THE OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF THE NIGERIA CUSTOMS SERVICE (NCS) 2025 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) PROGRAMME.

The Executive Secretary, Border Communities Development Agency, Dr. George D.A. Kelly FNIQS has commended the Comptroller General of Customs, Mr. B.A. Adeniyi for his laudable initiative tagged “Customs Cares”. This comprehensive Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme is designed to foster inclusive growth and sustainable development across Nigerian communities, especially border communities where they operate.
Dr. Kelly alongside Management Members of BCDA attended the event, held at the Government Secondary School, Wuse Zone 3, Abuja on Thursday, 20th March, 2025. Also present at this auspicious occasion were the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Chief Wale Edun, who served as the Special Guest of Honour, the Honourable Minister of Education, and the Honourable Minister of Youth, amongst other dignitaries present. The Government Secondary School was unveiled as the first beneficiary of the “customs cares” initiative, marking a significant milestone.
The “Customs Cares” programme aligns seamlessly with His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR “Renewed Hope Agenda”, focusing on critical sectors such as health, education, special investments, food security, creative economy, and environmental sustainability. These areas of focus are also in tandem with BCDA’s strategic intervention priorities for border communities.
In his goodwill message, the Executive Secretary expressed the Agency’s profound gratitude to His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, for the enhanced budgetary allocation to BCDA in the 2025 fiscal year. He emphasized that this increased funding would enable the Agency to deliver numerous socio-infrastructural projects, in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of Mr. President, to Nigerians residing in the border communities.
Dr. Kelly further used the occasion to outline that all BCDA projects are designed to be smart and green, utilizing solar energy. The Agency’s areas of focus for intervention in 2025 include Water Supply, Health, Education, Agriculture/Food Security, Social Welfare and Green Power. Over 300 infrastructural projects will be executed in 2025, particularly solar-powered water projects aimed at improving the living conditions of residents in Nigeria’s border communities. These projects will be implemented across 3,000 communities in 105 Local Government Areas in 21 States of the Federation.
In a demonstration of support for the NCS CSR programme, BCDA pledged scholarships to the 10 best graduating students of the Government Secondary School, Wuse Zone 3, as part of its contribution to the initiative.
In his closing remarks, Dr. Kelly said BCDA would partner with the NCS Corporate Social Responsibility programme in areas of health, skills acquisition, education and other critical sectors. He reaffirmed BCDA’s unwavering commitment to its strategic partnership with the Nigeria Customs Service, highlighting the importance of collaborative efforts in enhancing security and improving the socio-economic well-being of residents in Nigeria’s border communities.