Nigerian Maritime Stakeholders raise the alarm over President Muhammadu Buhari nay Col. Hameed Ali (retd), the incumbent Comptroller General of Customs plot to compel the incoming president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to inherit and retain Ali as customs boss by his (Buhari) refusal the second time to assent to the Nigeria Customs and Excise Bill as the administration winds up
By Innocent Chukwu
In August 2015 President Muhammadu Buhari had in a bizarre act that jolted even the international customs body, the World Customs Organisation (WCO) appointed a retired military Colonel, Hameed Ali to oversee the affairs of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) as its Comptroller General. By that act Buhari had, willy-nilly, ceded the NCS to the control of the jackboot albeit via the back door. Thus, the Nigeria Customs had since remained a pseudo military outfit given that Ali brought in some serving soldiers, especially his Principal Staff Officer (PSO), into the administration of the NCS without any qualms.
President Buhari had given Ali the brief to re-engineer, revamp and reform the service which was smarting from what many regarded as the iron claws of its CGC at the time, Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko Inde popular then as Dikko.
Stakeholders had opposed the appointment of retired military administrator to head such a sensitive parastatal under a democracy, what with Ali’s refusal to adorn the NCS uniform. Many stakeholders had equally raised the alarm that Ali’s appointment as Customs CG negated universal and WCO principles on customs administration. However, against the principles of competency and expertise, Buhari had foisted the ageing Ali on the highly technical NCS and dammed its ugly consequences.
Instructively, many stakeholders had left Buhari with his choice, but these had to console themselves in the fact that since Ali’s job had been spelt out by Buhari, he might not spend more than two years to achieve the reforming and rebranding objectives. Fast-forward to 2023, many stakeholders are angry that Ali’s eight years on the saddle as customs CG, has deprived over five officers from reaching to the highest appointment – CGC – in the service, as well as serving the parastatal as its head.
Analysts contend, as well as insist, that many officers who had retired from the Nigeria Customs as Assistant and Deputy Comptrollers General respectively since the appointment of Ali might have led the service as CGC for one year, one and a half years or even two years as the case may be before their retirement. Many analysts regret that such officers had lost the opportunity to attain the zenith of their career in the NCS due to the inordinate choice of president Buhari.
Analysts have also raised their issue concerning how a retired military officer, Ali, should be signing the retirement memos and files of retiring senior customs officers, some of whom he denied access to become CGC. These analysts insist that such act is an aberration of the highest order which defies mental placement. They recalled that in 2008, late President Umar Musa Yar’Adua rejected the persuasion from notable Northern power brokers to allow then CGC, now late Hamman Bello Ahmed, popular as Kojoli, to remain even one day extra in office after he (Kojoli) was due for retirement.
Observers point out that a moral burden has been laid on the shoulders of Ali who retired many years ago from active service for superintending over the retirement of customs officers. The realization that Ali is morally handicapped to sign retirement memos of officers, had compelled an alleged criminal act by some unpatriotic officers in doctoring and falsifying their official retirement dates. Ali was at a loss on how to sanction those allegedly involved in the racket.
Amid the worrisome issues and cacophony orchestrated by Ali’s appointment, the 8th National Assembly (NASS) under the chairmanship of Bukola Saraki as then President of the Nigerian Senate, had fast-tracked the amendment of the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) via a bill, the Nigeria Customs and Excise Bill, to insert a clause that blocks the likes of Ali from parading themselves as CGC of the tax collecting agency. The Saraki-led NASS dutifully completed that assignment and turned it to the president, Buhari for assent.
In the NC&E Bill 2016 titled “Bill for an Act to Repeal the Customs and Excise Management Act, Cap. C45, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and Enact the Nigeria Customs Service Bill”, part of the amendments to the CEMA was the restriction of CGC appointment to the serving officers of the NCS, thus if Buhari had assented to the bill in 2016, Ali would automatically cease to remain Customs CG.
After back and forth movements between the legislature and the executive, according to Leke Abejide, Chairman House Committee on Customs and Excise, the House, on April 12, 2022, had considered and adopted the initial report by its committee on Customs and Excise on a bill to repeal the CEMA of 1958. The legislation now titled, “A Bill for an Act to Repeal the Customs and Excise Management Act, Cap. 45, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and other Customs and Excise Legislation and Enact the Nigeria Customs Service Act, 2022 to Provide for the Reform of the Administration and Management of Customs and Excise in Nigeria, and for Related Matters” was presented to Buhari last March for his assent.
According to Abejide, “This Bill is not new. It came the first time and was adjusted. It came the second time and was adjusted. This time, it is only one clause that was in the original and was omitted from the amendment Bill. The other area we already dealt with it the last time. The Ministry of Finance complained that Chairman of the Board (of Customs) should be the minister and not a retired Deputy Comptroller General of Customs, and we corrected it here. Anywhere in the Bill where the Board chairman appeared, it was supposed to be changed to minister. But when they were doing the clean up, they didn’t change that.”
Abejide also noted that the review of the CEMA seeks to reposition the Nigeria Customs for improved efficiency and service delivery. Once more, President Buhari has returned the CEMA amendment Bill to the National Assembly having declined his assent to it. Buhari’s action has elicited negative reactions from various customs publics and stakeholders, fueling the suspicion that the CGC Ali may have advised Buhari to withdraw assent to the new laws to guide customs operations in Nigeria, knowing that should the amendment Bill be passed into law, he (Ali) would cease to remain customs boss, what with the allegation that the CGC is seeking to remain customs boss after Buhari has left office. But Customs sources said Ali has no such plan, that it was the error in who is the Board Chairman that made Buhari not to sign the bill into law.
To fire the first salvo was a frontline maritime media expert, Elder Asu Beks who reacted, “This (Buhari’s declined assent) is bad news for the maritime industry. I learned from usually dependable sources that Hameed Ali worked against assent to the bill, and that he needs four additional years to complete his reforms at customs House. He is simply working hard to perpetuate himself in office”.
Others have also posited that Buhari’s refusal to sign the bill into law indicates his interest in allowing Ali remain customs CG post May 29, 2023. According to investigations orchestrated by this medium, Ali’s reform job in the customs have not yet completed, especially in the area of bridging the leadership gap that may exist after the old senior officers may have all retired in a few years to come, leaving the service leadership to young officers recruited since from 2009. Ali has tried to secure rapid promotion for these young officers to enable them attain the ranks at which they can effectively manage the affairs of the NCS. Some of these officers are wearing the Chief Superintendent of Customs (CSC) rank, and may be promoted to Assistant Comptrollers before the end of 2023.
Interestingly, it is gathered that amid the Ali’s alleged plot to remain custom CG after Buhari’s tenure has expired, some top ranking officers who form part of the management of the NCS, including influential Deputy Comptrollers General (DCG), have begun to push their luck forward in a bid to be appointed next customs CG by the incoming president.
Meanwhile, a Deputy Comptroller of Customs who oversees one of the strategic formations but declines to be named because he is not authorized to speak for the service in the media, told this medium that the CGC is working hard to ensure that the CEMA amendment Bill is passed into law. He said the CGC wants to leave office with Buhari. The senior officer also allayed fears of Buhari not willing to assent to the bill. He said if the error on who is the chairman of the Customs Board had not occurred, Buhari would have assented to the Bill. The error of retired DCG appearing in some paragraph of the Bill and that of the Minister appearing in other parts as the Board Chairman, according to the officer, was responsible for Buhari’s declined assent.
Furthermore, the Customs chief also confirmed to this medium that many senior management officers have been positioning themselves to be appointed next CGC.
