Customs analysts agree that the new Comptroller General of Customs (CGC), Wale Adeniyi, is a fine officer by virtue of his exposure as a national image maker, but advised that he would need to dismantle some unenviable legacies of his immediate predecessor, Col. Hameed Ali (retd), which have brought inefficiency and low morale into the Service, if the acting CGC wants to make a remarkable impact
Adewale Adeniyi, the acting Comptroller General of Customs (CGC), comes as a talented, bold, courageous and confident officer. A polyglot of some sort who bestrode the world of the Nigeria Customs public interface for many years as its National Public Relations Officer (NPRO), broke the record of serving under the highest number of CGCs of the Service successively. Adeniyi served as customs NPRO between 1999 and 2015 when he handed over to a successor.
Some of the CGCs he worked under include, Aliyu Mustapha, Jacob Gyang Buba, the reigning Gbom Gwom Jos, Hamman Bello Ahmed, Bernard Shaw Nwadialor and Abdullahi Dikko Inde. Given his wealth of experience through exposure over the years, the acting CGC Adeniyi, his admirers contend, does not require any special magic wand to excel in piloting the affairs of the customs. For, in their estimation, Adeniyi is the best that can happen to customs post his immediate predecessor, Ali. However, these observers are also quick to add that Adeniyi may be inheriting a disjointed organization whose fabrics have been torn by the eighth years of Ali regime. Many, therefore, conclude that how the acting CGC would knit together the torn fabrics of the NCS would define his outing as the customs boss.
Hence, stakeholders advise Adeniyi to work hard to increase the low morale of officers by unifying the Service and to give officers from all the regions a sense of belonging that can help them see themselves as part and parcel of the Service so as to contribute their best to stabilize the parastatal. In the past eight years, recruitment, promotion and posting of officers under Ali had not reflected national cohesion. Officers from some sections of the country had felt marginalized by the tribalistic and nepotistic tendencies of Ali which orchestrated his alleged preference for a section of the country over and above the others.
Analysts caution Adeniyi to be mindful of acts that may lead to tribalising, ethnicizing and regionalizing the operations of the NCS. They further advised him to ensure his actions are always fair to all officers irrespective of their tribe or region. This, they said, will engender harmony and win him the admiration of officers. To achieve the objective, many add that Adeniyi must be courageous enough to dismantle structures in the Service which are viewed as counterproductive in the system. For example, Dr. Fred Ajuzie, a former Chairman of the Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders warned that the proliferation and duplication of interventionist teams which are performing almost the same tasks are counterproductive. Ajuzie identified the Valuation Seat, DC Revenue Seat, Query and Amendment Seat, Compliance Seat among others as doing similar work which delay the clearing processes. He said in some commands of the Service, there have always been serious clashes between the Customs Processing Center (CPC) and the Compliance Seat which affect the release of containers on time.
Ajuzie advised the Federal Government to disband the Strike Force and CGC Compliance Seat and allow only the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) and the CPC to function. He alleged that officers pay heavily to get posted to the interventionist teams because of personal enrichment.
Stakeholders want Adeniyi to ensure that the new Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) 2022 is promptly gazetted and implemented so that the NCS can benefit from its rich provisions that can aid the NCS advancement.
Acting CGC Adeniyi has also been charged to scrutinize thoroughly the contentious Customs Modernisation Scheme which his immediate predecessor initiated. A large number of stakeholders have challenged the desirability of the project which they alleged would concession customs revenue collection job to a foreign company where Ali has interest. A former President of NAGAFF, Eugene Nweke and Francis Omotosho, a Maritime lawyer among others have called for the immediate termination of the modernisation contract.
Dr Ajuzie has also called on the acting CGC to look into the alleged unbridled smuggling across the nation’s land borders, which he alleged allows for the influx of dangerous items into the country. Ajuzie alleged that Ali knew where the contrabands were coming from but failed to address the menace because of his undue interest. Hear him: “Ali knows where the CBs are coming from but he refused to direct officers to go there and arrest them. CBs are coming from all the borders. The people carrying outright CBs–okirika, used shoes, handbags–they’re carrying them through the borders”.
Enumerating the dire implications of smuggling across the borders under Ali without commensurate checks, Ajuzie advised, “Let the government go and set up a brand new task force to look into the activities of smugglers at the borders”.
