Newly appointed comptroller-general of the Nigerian Customs
Service (NCS) Retired Colonel
Hamid Ali has begun scrutinising the files
of senior officers in the service with a view to prosecuting those
found to be engaging in corrupt practises.
In a surprise move, President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Col Ali to
head the NCS because of its reputation as being a hotbed of corruption. A
former military administrator of Kaduna State, Col Ali has a reputation
of being a no-nonsense hard man and is expected to crack the whip at
the agency.
As part of measures to carry out President Buhari’s directive, Col Ali has already demanded files of top officers of the service. One presidency official said that the NCS ranked among the most corrupt government agencies in the country.
A survey by the Cleen Foundation in collaboration with the McArthur Foundation had in 2013 ranked the NCS among the most corrupt federal government agencies in Nigeria. Other corrupt agencies mentioned in the survey included the Nigerian Police Force, the Nigeria Immigration Service and the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria.
President Buhari reasoned that for the government to meet its obligations amid short-fall in its revenues, there should be transparency in revenue generating agencies. Fear is believed to have now gripped men and officers of the service, who had been feeding fat on government revenues up until now.
Col Ali has started scrutinising the files of top officers of the service and petitions written against some employees. It is believed that any customs officers with queries pertaining to proven cases of corruption in their files would be shown the way out.
Some of the petitions, it was gathered, dealt with illegal sales of seized goods by officers of the service and there have also been complaints about illegal sales of contrabands. It is also believed that money accruable from sales of goods went to private pockets, as they were not gazetted before being sold.
“There are petitions bordering on corruption, so the new helmsman has asked for files of all officers. Reorganisation is inevitable in the NCS and those who are corrupt would be shown the way out,” the presidency source added.
It was also believed that the new comptroller-general would look into violations of rules and regulations on clearance of goods as well as false declarations and misapplication of tariffs. Presidential spokesman Femi Adesina, said that crux of President Buhari’s anti-corruption war was that anybody that corruptly enriched himself would be prosecuted.
As part of measures to carry out President Buhari’s directive, Col Ali has already demanded files of top officers of the service. One presidency official said that the NCS ranked among the most corrupt government agencies in the country.
A survey by the Cleen Foundation in collaboration with the McArthur Foundation had in 2013 ranked the NCS among the most corrupt federal government agencies in Nigeria. Other corrupt agencies mentioned in the survey included the Nigerian Police Force, the Nigeria Immigration Service and the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria.
President Buhari reasoned that for the government to meet its obligations amid short-fall in its revenues, there should be transparency in revenue generating agencies. Fear is believed to have now gripped men and officers of the service, who had been feeding fat on government revenues up until now.
Col Ali has started scrutinising the files of top officers of the service and petitions written against some employees. It is believed that any customs officers with queries pertaining to proven cases of corruption in their files would be shown the way out.
Some of the petitions, it was gathered, dealt with illegal sales of seized goods by officers of the service and there have also been complaints about illegal sales of contrabands. It is also believed that money accruable from sales of goods went to private pockets, as they were not gazetted before being sold.
“There are petitions bordering on corruption, so the new helmsman has asked for files of all officers. Reorganisation is inevitable in the NCS and those who are corrupt would be shown the way out,” the presidency source added.
It was also believed that the new comptroller-general would look into violations of rules and regulations on clearance of goods as well as false declarations and misapplication of tariffs. Presidential spokesman Femi Adesina, said that crux of President Buhari’s anti-corruption war was that anybody that corruptly enriched himself would be prosecuted.
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