The Nigeria Customs Service’s Lilypond Export Command in Lagos has changed leadership after Comptroller Samuel Olusanya Ariyibi retired from the service and handed over to Deputy Comptroller Olusola O. Salako.
Salako has assumed duty as the command’s Acting Customs Area Controller following a formal handover on 24 August, according to the command’s public relations office.
The transition comes less than three weeks after Ariyibi reported that the command had processed exports worth $792.57m between April and June 2026.
That figure was 24.35% higher than the $599.60m recorded in the same period of 2025, although it was lower than the $925.84m recorded in the first quarter of 2026.
Why the change matters
Lilypond is an important part of Nigeria’s non-oil export system. The Nigerian Ports Authority designated the Lilypond Container Terminal in Lagos as a specialised facility for locally made and agricultural exports in 2022, with the aim of reducing bureaucratic and logistical obstacles for exporters.
Customs later consolidated export processing at the command. The agency said the arrangement was intended to improve processing, compliance and traceability across the export chain.
The command therefore sits at the intersection of government efforts to increase non-oil exports, improve trade facilitation and diversify an economy that remains heavily exposed to oil revenues.
For exporters, the quality of the transition could affect how efficiently documentation and regulatory processes are handled. For government, the command’s performance also has implications for export volumes, compliance and revenue from export-related schemes.
What Ariyibi leaves behind
Ariyibi took over the command amid a period of rising export activity.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, the command processed exports worth about $858m, up 9.56% from $783.2m a year earlier. It also processed more than 13,000 export containers during the quarter.
Performance strengthened further in the first quarter of 2026, when the command recorded $925.84m in export value and processed 19,014 containers, according to figures reported by the command.
But the second quarter showed a moderation in export value. The $792.57m recorded between April and June was about 14.4% below the first-quarter figure, even though it remained higher than the same quarter in 2025.
The figures suggest that the new leadership inherits a command that has recorded year-on-year growth but still faces fluctuations in export activity.
Agricultural products remained the largest export category in the second quarter, while manufactured exports increased compared with the first quarter. Solid-mineral exports remained comparatively small.
Ariyibi calls for continuity
At the handover ceremony, Ariyibi thanked the Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, the management of the service, officers and stakeholders for their support during his tenure.
He attributed the command’s achievements to teamwork, professionalism, discipline, dedication and collaboration.
Ariyibi urged officers to extend the same cooperation to the incoming acting controller and to maintain the operational standards established during his tenure.
He said he was confident that the new leadership could build on the existing foundation.
The command described Ariyibi’s career as distinguished and meritorious and wished him a successful retirement.
Salako promises focus on trade and compliance
Salako commended Ariyibi for his service and said he would provide “purposeful, responsive and professional leadership”.
He identified trade facilitation, regulatory compliance, anti-smuggling operations and stakeholder engagement as priorities. He also asked officers to maintain discipline and professionalism and called on stakeholders to continue supporting the command.
Those priorities will be important because exporters depend on predictable regulatory processes, while Customs has a separate responsibility to enforce the law and prevent illicit trade.
The balance between faster export processing and effective regulatory checks is therefore likely to remain one of the main tests for the new administration.
What happens next?
The immediate challenge for Salako is to maintain the command’s recent growth without treating higher export values as the only measure of success.
The available figures show that Lilypond’s export value has grown compared with previous years, but quarterly performance can vary significantly. The command will also need to demonstrate whether improvements in processing translate into lower delays, better compliance and more competitive conditions for legitimate exporters.
For now, the leadership transition marks the end of Ariyibi’s tenure and places responsibility for the next phase of Lilypond’s export operations with Salako.
The performance of the command in the coming quarters will provide a clearer test of whether recent gains can be sustained under the new leadership.
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