The Head of Sports, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Samuel Onikeku, says the NCS women’s volleyball team has set a historic record by completing the 2025 Comptroller-General of Customs Volleyball Premier League unbeaten.
Onikeku said the women’s team won all 20 matches across both phases of the league to clinch the title, a feat he described as unprecedented in Nigerian volleyball history.
“The women won 10 matches in the first phase and another 10 in the final phase. This has never happened before in Nigerian volleyball,” he said.
He described the achievement as a major milestone for the sport, noting that it was the first time a women’s team had gone through an entire league season without a single defeat.
Onikeku also praised the overall performance of the NCS teams, saying both the women’s and men’s sides exceeded expectations.
“We are thrilled that we have made the Comptroller-General of Customs and the entire Nigeria Customs Service proud,” he said.
According to him, the men’s team also showed remarkable improvement, losing just one match in the first phase and going unbeaten in the second phase to finish second overall.
“This is a major improvement from last season when the men finished sixth. It shows clear progress,” he said.
He attributed the teams’ success to discipline, commitment, deliberate planning, early camping, technical restructuring and sustained motivation, adding that experienced professionals, including Olympians and technical directors, played key roles.
Onikeku said the teams had shifted focus to continental competitions, following encouragement from the Comptroller-General of Customs.
“When the CGC addressed the ladies, he made it clear that our next target is North Africa,” he said.
He disclosed that the team had already won the West African title in Ghana and now aims to challenge African volleyball powerhouses such as Egypt, Tunisia and Kenya.
Onikeku expressed confidence that the NCS women’s team could win the African Women’s Club Volleyball Championship in the future, adding that plans were underway to bring in international players to further strengthen the squads.
In the final standings, the NCS women’s team finished first with 63 sets won, five lost and 63 points, while the men’s team placed second with 62 sets won, 18 lost and 57 points.