Rafiat Mustapha leads a renewed Nigeria Customs Volleyball squad into the 2025 season with high expectations.
The Nigeria Customs Service Women’s Volleyball Club has appointed Rafiat Mustapha, a senior national team player, as its new captain ahead of the 2025 Comptroller General of Customs (CGC) Volleyball Premier League.
The announcement was contained in a statement signed by the Head of Sports, Samuel Onikeku, who revealed that Mustapha will be supported by Bethel Ogownma as first assistant captain and Kelechi Ndukauba as second assistant. He also confirmed that Enewa Udoh will rejoin the captaincy group upon returning from maternity leave.
In a strategic move to strengthen leadership and coordination, Francisca Ikhiede and Aisha Umar, both experienced players on the national team, have been assigned roles as team coordinators.
Onikeku expressed appreciation to the outgoing captains. Helen Umeh, Francisca Ikhiede, and Tochukwu Nnoruga, whose tenure saw the Customs side dominate the Nigerian league and achieve a notable fourth-place finish at the 2021 African Club Championship.
The sports chief, who is a former Technical Adviser to the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), disclosed that the club has concluded recruitment and trials for new talents to bolster the team’s competitiveness ahead of the 2025 season.
“We have successfully done our trials and gotten players who will add value to the team and give their best,” he stated.
“This is a time to rekindle the team and build on the success of the previous leadership.”
Onikeku added that the club’s goal is not only to retain its dominance in the local league but to once again compete among the top volleyball clubs in Africa, just as they did in 2021 when Nigeria ranked first on the continent.
He charged the players to uphold the values of the Nigeria Customs Service and remain exemplary ambassadors of the institution both on and off the court.
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