Customs names Olusola Salako Acting Controller of Lilypond Export Command

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Lilypond Export Command, has named Deputy Comptroller Olusola Salako as its Acting Customs Area Controller (CAC).

The development was disclosed by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Mrs Olushola Oke, in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.

Salako assumed duty following the retirement of Comptroller Samuel Ariyibi, the command’s former CAC, at a formal handover ceremony.

What they are saying

During the handover, Ariyibi formally transferred the affairs of the command to Salako in line with the administrative procedures of the NCS, marking the end of his tenure as CAC and his retirement from the service.

• Ariyibi thanked the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi, the management of the NCS, officers and stakeholders for their support during his tenure.
• He attributed the command’s achievements to teamwork, professionalism, discipline, dedication and collaboration between its officers and stakeholders. He also urged personnel to extend the same commitment to the new leadership and sustain the operational standards and gains recorded under his tenure.

Salako, in his response, commended Ariyibi for his service to the NCS and contributions to the development of the Lilypond Export Command.

He pledged to provide purposeful, responsive and professional leadership, with emphasis on trade facilitation, regulatory compliance, anti-smuggling operations and stakeholder engagement.

Meet Olusola Salako

Salako is a career Customs officer with experience spanning general duties, technical supervision, trade facilitation, non-oil export processing and tariff and trade matters.

• Salako began his professional career in the private sector after completing a National Diploma in Science Laboratory Technology at Osun State Polytechnic between 1997 and 1999. He subsequently obtained a Bachelor of Technology in Food Science from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, where he studied from 1999 to 2005.
• Before joining the NCS, Salako worked as a Data Analyst under the NYSC programme at Cadbury Nigeria Plc from February 2006 to February 2007. He later worked at Pooye Contracts Nigeria Limited as a Pay Officer/Supervisor between February 2007 and January 2009, where he handled wage payments and supervised workers.
• He joined the Nigeria Customs Service as an Assistant Superintendent of Customs II in February 2010.

Between March 2012 and January 2017, Salako served as an Assistant Superintendent of Customs before becoming a Deputy Superintendent of Customs from January 2017 to January 2019.

During this period, his responsibilities included technical supervision, excise declaration supervision, manifest operations, cargo exit procedures, cargo transit operations and work involving the NICIS II application.

• Salako was promoted to Chief Superintendent in January 2020 and served in the rank until December 2022.
• He subsequently became an Assistant Comptroller in January 2023, with responsibilities covering trade and non-oil export facilitation, agreement-based export procedures, Customs clearance procedures, tariff and trade.
• His LinkedIn profile shows that he became a Deputy Comptroller in January 2025, continuing his work around trade and non-oil export facilitation, export procedures, Customs clearance and tariff and trade.
• Alongside his professional career, Salako has pursued further education and professional training. He obtained a Master of Business Administration in Finance and Financial Management Services from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology between 2023 and 2025, and a postgraduate degree in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution from the National Open University of Nigeria during the same period.

He also completed Staff Course training at the Nigeria Customs Command and Staff College, including the PJSC programme in 2020 and the PSC programme in 2023.

His professional affiliations include membership of the Chartered Institute of Loan and Risk Management of Nigeria and the Nigeria Institute of Food Science and Technology, where he holds the grade of MNIFST.

What you should know

Salako is taking charge of the Lilypond Export Command as it continues to play a growing role in Nigeria’s non-oil export trade.

• The command processed exports worth $792.56 million in the second quarter of 2026, down 14.4% from the $925.8 million recorded in the first quarter. Despite the quarter-on-quarter decline, the figure represented a 24.35% increase from the $599.60 million recorded in the second quarter of 2025.
• The command’s expanding role in export processing has also been reflected in its revenue and cargo activities. It generated N7.1 billion in NESS revenue in the first quarter of 2025, while Customs reported that it processed 27,721 containers and non-oil exports valued at $1.586 billion between January and June 2025.

Salako is therefore inheriting a command at the centre of the NCS’ efforts to facilitate containerised non-oil exports and strengthen export-related collections.