Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ) has thrown its weight behind
the position of the Lawmakers, directing the Customs boss to appear
before it in full regalia of the service uniform as a mark of honour
and respect for the organization and the nation in general.
The group which also disclosed that the invitation of Customs boss by
the Senate was in order to put sanity into the system and as well to
ameliorate the suffering Nigerians might encounter as a result of the
implementation of the Customs’ new vehicle duty policy, saying that
the Customs decision could not be justified by any logic than self
serving.
It strongly condemned the Customs’ new Vehicle Duty Policy, describing
the policy as barbaric, anti-masses, draconian, self-centred, satanic,
illegal, ungodly, anathema, and abomination, unconstitutional and
undemocratic.
The group, in a statement signed by its Executive Chairman, Comrade
Adeniyi, Alimi Sulaiman and copy was made available to newsmen on
Monday, commended the members of the 8th Senate, particularly, the
Chairman Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator
Dino Melaye and Senate Deputy Majority Leader, Senator Bala Ibn
Na’allah, for standing up against the illegal and anti-people policy
of Nigeria Customs Service, enjoying the lawmakers not to allow the
policy to see the light of the day.
Comrade Sulaiman who further explained that since inception of the
present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, the government
have been formulating and implementing the obnoxious policies that
made life unbearable for the Nigeria masses, adding that Nigerians
should not be made to pay for the incompetence of the men of Nigeria
Customs Service(NCS) over non-payment of appropriate duties on vehicle
,asking rhetorically, if the men of Customs were slept off before the
vehicle left the seaports and borders in the land?
Rights activist asked the Federal Government to purge the Customs
Service of bad eggs, insisting that the level corruption in the
service were so high beyond imagination and increasing geometrically
on daily basis, blaming the operatives for non-payment of appropriate
duties on goods and service brought to the country.
He then advised the Customs Service to be alive to their official
duties by stopping collaborating with the smugglers to evade the
payment of Customs and Exercise duties on goods and services brought
to the nation, advising the Customs Service to self the idea of this
obnoxious vehicle duty policy which portrayed them as irresponsible
and irresponsive organization.
According to him, “The decision of the Upper Chamber of the National
Assembly to invite the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs
Service, Col. Ahmed Alli over the obnoxious new Vehicle duty policy
and as well to appear before it in the Service Uniform is a welcome
development which is in right direction. We are not in Banana country
where anybody in position of authority can be doing as he likes and
Col. Alli should not be allowed to return the nation back to the dark
days of military which they could do anything at will without
checkmating.
“The 8th Senate of the National Assembly under Dr. Bukola Saraki
should be given kudos for standing against the anti-masses policy of
Nigeria Customs. Nigerians should not be allowed to pay for the
incompetence and corruption of the men of Nigeria Customs. We can say
categorically that the men of the operatives are collaborators of
smuggling illegal goods and evasion of payment of Customs and Exercise
duties in Nigeria. The service should strive to get rid of bad eggs in
its operative so as to regain their lost glory”.
Supporting his argument by quoting Senator Melaye of Kogi West, that,
“I am member of the Customs Senate Committee and I want to educate
some of us today, we have Deputy comptroller General of Customs, their
next promotion, if it comes to be , is Comptroller General of customs.
And we have asked this man (Alli) in the Committee, why is he was not
hearing the rank of Comptroller General and he said Uniform men’ do
not wear uniform twice. I asked him, under which law.
“I educated him by reminding him that he retired as a Colonel and that
General (Haladu) Hananiya retired as a General. When he was appointed
as the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps, he wore,
promptly and daily, the Uniform of the Corps”.
It will be recalled that penultimate Thursday, the Customs boss, Col.
Ahmed Ali, through a Circular, issued a one month ultimatum, from
Monday, March 13, to Wednesday, April 12, 2017, to all Vehicle owners
within the country, whose Customs duties had not been fully paid to do
so, advising in the Circular that all Motor Dealers and Private owners
of such vehicles to visit the nearest Zonal office of the service to
pay appropriate duties on them.