Customs CG Accuses Officers of Corruption, Greed, Boasts He Has Come to Stay
The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Rtd Col. Hammed Ali Wednesday boasted that he has come to say in the Service even against the wishes of the stakeholders.
Ali may have been reacting to criticisms against him by the League of Maritime Publishers and Editors who in a statement recently said he has failed to address the issue of massive corruption and nepotism rocking the Service.
The Comptroller General who spoke during a lecture organised by the Nigeria Customs Command and Staff College, Abuja told the stakeholders to forget about any wish that he would soon leave the Service.
He told the audience at the conference, “Iam here to stay. When I assumed duty as Comptroller-General, there were some fears and some people were angry at my appointment.
“There were pressures and after one year, they discovered the old man is still there. Then, after three years, I am still around and it is now time for them to accept that I have come to stay to carry out certain reforms in the service”.
The CG was however full of criticisms for the officers who he accused of greed and illegal acquisition of wealth.
He said that some customs officers joined the Service for the purpose of enriching themselves with expensive cars and other properties against the interest of the country.
The League of Maritime Editors had raised daring allegations of wrong doings, massive corruption in the port system against Ali, officers of the Strike Force (SF) created by his office and others at the nation’s ports and border stations.
In the case of the CG, the League, which comprises seasoned journalists who have contributed to the development of the maritime sector and the economy accused Ali of compromising President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade following series of activities that have been taking place in the Service.
In a Quarterly State of the Nation’s Review on the activities at the ports, the Editors said Ali has failed as far as reform is concerned in the Customs Service.
The Editors said the system in the ports has remained worsening corrupt practices in which importers are extorted to the marrow by members of the Strike Force and Federal Operations unit (FOU) in another round of malpractices when the former had been cleared and authorised to take delivery of their goods.
The League described the high revenue generation by the Service as simply a ruse since there has been a drastic fall in inward cargo throughput coupled with the depreciation in the value of the Naira
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