Business
Customs Sacks 52 Officers For Corruption
A total of 52 Officers of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) have been dismissed for corruption-related offences.
The Comptroller General of Customs, Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko Inde, dropped the hint during a meeting between the Management of NCS and top executive of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) in Abuja recently.
Inde said that the action was to set precedents for others to either turn a new leaf or get sacked as well, stressing that it would be a continuous exercise in order to get rid of those bad eggs in the service.
According to him, anyone who wants to drag the name of the Nigeria Customs Service in the mud would be shown the way out in order to protect the image of the organisation.
Although a source at the meeting revealed that efforts by ANLCA members to plead for re-instatement of the sacked officers failed as their plea and request was turned down by the Comptroller General of Customs.
However, the source also said that the Customs boss commended the current crop of Customs Intelligence Unit (CIU) officers for their professionalism in their duty describing them as the best ever.
On delay in cargo clearance, he hinted that the management of customs would soon come up with the timing of every process in cargo delivery to check corruption and other impediments in the Ports, adding that the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) introduced by the Nigerian Customs said only importers and agents who handled non-compliant cargoes find fault with the introduction of the PAAR in the Ports and called on all for co-operation as it is in line with World best practices.
Inde also promised that it is necessary to place alert on some imports whose values are found to be questionably low, so as to guide field officers in the examination and release of such cargoes without delay.
The meeting which resolved other pressing issues in the sector was attended by National Executive Officers of ANLCA and the association’s Board of trustees.