By Ade Jacobs
Since Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd) took over as Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the A-list parastatal has been a potpourri of controversies. The most being his alleged northernisation agenda and the concession of the Customs to a private firm. In this report, Ade Jacob
looks at these and sundry issues.
Many who accuse the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari of nepotism and favouritism, readily point to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) as one agency with vivid examples of such undemocratic tendencies.
Under the current Comptroller General, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), industry watchers have accused NCS leadership, among others, of cronyism, favouritism and ethnic bias in its postings, promotions and deployments.
They accuse the CG of posting officers of northern extraction to ‘lucrative’ customs commands such as Apapa, Tin Can, Seme, Federal Operations Unit, FOU, while non-northerners are posted to ‘small’ commands.
According to Lucky Amiwero, President, National Council, Association of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, “Almost all the Area Commands you go, you see northern officers. This is not too good for a government agency. There is need to redesign the (Nigeria Customs) Service such that it will not be a northern service whereby northerners are placed in certain positions.
“Promotion has to be redistributed to comply with the procedure. What is happening in Customs should be redirected so that people can be placed properly,” he said.
Since Ali came to office, many Comptrollers, 365Daily’s findings indicate, have been allegedly deployed to such areas termed as “lucrative” commands: Abba Kura (Apapa), Mohammed Baba Musa(Tin Can), Usman Yahaya(FOU, Zone A), Bello Mohammed Jibo, all northerners, making leaders in the sector ceaselessly asking whether officers from other parts of the country are not qualified to head sensitive positions in the service.
This postings, coming after the appointment of two new Acting Deputy Comptrollers-General of Customs(DCGs) and five Acting Assistant Comptrollers -General of Customs(ACGs), all from the North, into management position in September further reinforces claims of deliberate ‘northernisation’ of the Customs.
Recently, an ACG told 365Daily in confidence that many officers are not happy with the style of the CG, particularly as far as “his fighting corruption in the service in concerned. His garrison approach to issues of promotion and discipline is really affecting officers and men. As long as you are not close to the CG or those that have his confidence, you cannot be posted to good places and your promotion is delayed.”
Those mostly affected in the alleged nepotism are said to be officers of southern extraction, who say that they have been excluded from ‘juicy’ positions – a claim the Service repeatedly denies, blaming those “out to discredit the management”, for peddling false information to further malign the CG.
Joseph Attah, the NCS spokesman, maintains that the promotions have nothing to do with nepotism, contending that major management positions have been fairly distributed by the Service in line with the federal character law. Attah said the officers recently appointed are to replace officers from their zones who recently retired, urging those shouting ‘tribalism’ to discard the notion.
Instructively, Col. Ali (rtd), the CG, is not new to controversy. In fact, since his appointment as CG of Customs, on August 27, 2015 by President Buhari, the retired Army Officer has been waddling through a labyrinth of controversies.
While his appointment as a former military officer to head the NCS received critical reviews, his decision not to wear official uniform of the Customs, and refusal to appear before the Senate when he was invited over the uniform saga, got him enmeshed in allegations of insensitivity and disrespect of an important government organ constitutionally entrusted with the power of oversight.
Controversial steps:
Ali curiously went ahead and appointed a serving military officer, Brigadier General Mohammed Buhari as his Principal Staff Officer, PSO ( not related to the president), who 365Daily was told became so powerful that he was said to be responsible for many of the key decisions made by the CG, especially promotions and deployments. This ‘militarization’ of the CG’s office didn’t go down well with many senior officers within the paramilitary agency, as it left them with the impression of inferiority.
In fact, many of them attribute Ali’s adverse attitude to his famed closeness to President Buhari, who he is said to have once served as Aide-de-Camp(ADC) during the latter’s reign as military Head of State.
Not too long ago when PSO Buhari was redeployed to military duties, the development elicited jubilation in many quarters within the Customs, especially in the Abuja Headquarters where he wielded overwhelming powers.
This shocking redeployment of the CG’s PSO has started making tongues to wag in the sector over whether CG Ali’s power in the current administration has began to decline. The development, 365Daily learnt, came as a rude shock to CG Ali , who was said to have made frantic efforts to stop his redeployment. But the military authorities were said to have insisted that the PSO would be more useful to both the military and the nation outside NCS, especially in the face of the many security challenges confronting the country.
Whether the decision to redeploy the PSO was done with direct and prior approval of the presidency no one can readily tell, but close watchers of the Service told 365Daily that it goes to show that Ali cannot simply depend on President Buhari to get whatever he wanted, or have his way around government bureaucracy as he is wont to do.
The PSO saga was yet to simmer down when the CG delved into a fresh controversy- the concession of the NCS to a private firm, which many insist have his imprimateur. This created further doubts among stakeholders as to his competence as leader of such a critical federal agency.
Two months ago, precisely on September 3, 2020, the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, had stated after the weekly Federal Executive Council, FEC meeting that the administration had approved the $3.1 billion concession of the service to a private firm, E. Customs HC Projects Nigeria Limited for a period of 20 years. The minister said the benefits of the project, being financed by the African Finance Corporation(AFC) include the total automation process of the service for better performance, using modern computer applications to collect revenue for the government as well as to plug leakages.
The announcement did not go down well with many industry players who insist that Ali and the promoters of the concession arrangement may be nursing ulterior motives other than plugging alleged revenue leakages.
Those that kicked against the concession believe that what the NCS needs at this time is not privatization, but rather a holistic retraining of its officers and men; enhancement of welfare packages and other incentives that will enable them perform optimally as a core revenue generating agency of the federal government.
Apart from this, many stakeholders also insist that the 20-year window granted the concession firm to recoup its $3.1 billion investment is too long, considering the small funds it would be committing to the project, while others have also criticised the government for concealing details of the multi-billion contract.
For instance, a former Comptroller General of Customs, Haman Bello Ahmed and Emeka Akabogu, a maritime lawyer, have separately demanded to know why the contract details have been shrouded in secrecy, wondering whether the real motive for awarding the contracts was to generate more revenue for the government.
Ahmed said: “The agreement should be a public document; it is an agreement between the government and the contractors. It is the right of Nigerians to get the details of the contract. Are they bringing the equipment and the technology? If they are doing all these, then it means that government has concessioned the revenue collection of import duty to a foreign company.”
Also speaking on the issue, Akabogu said: “the project being contemplated will probably incorporate complete automation of data submission and verification processes for cargo clearance in a formal single window. I absolutely subscribe to it as it will resolve the current issues which bedevil import clearance efficiency, including extortion by Customs and under-declaration by importers. But it will not cost $3.1billion and does not need a 20-year concession.”
Call for Ali’s sack:
Indeed, some observers are of the view that Ali has done well in the area of generation of huge revenue into the federation account. For instance, before his appointment, the annual revenue of the service hovered around N800 billion. But since his coming, the NCS has been generating over N1 trillion yearly. Last year, the Service made N1.2 trillion.
Yet, many who call for his removal, hinge their position on the argument that a more seasoned administrator that rose through the ranks would be more efficient and would most likely perform better in both revenue generation and motivation of the rank and file.
Only recently, the Senator representing Osun East Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Francis Fadahunsi, had in a letter to the president, advised him to appoint an officer from the service to replace Ali, whom he accused of almost destroying the service because of his inexperience.
Fadahunsi, a retired Assistant Comptroller General of Customs and Senate Committee Chairman on Customs reasoned that there was the need to have a thoroughbred professional to take over the leadership of the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS because according to him, the current CG has limited knowledge when it comes to trade facilitation, which he said is the core duty of the Customs.
“My call for a new Comptroller General of Customs is because I know as a retired customs officer that there is no how a soldier can understand the workings of Customs like a trained Customs officer will do,” the lawmaker said.
He contended that Ali’s removal will ensure professionalism in the Customs as well boost morale among the rank and file, who can now look forward to a clear and definite succession plan.