The Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service, Colonel Alli Hammed (Rtd) has announced that he would not be honouring a senate’s invitation to appear before the house today. Speaking after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, the CG said a court injunction is in place to stop him from honouring the invitation.
According to reports, the customs boss stated that an unnamed body has sued the Nigerian customs and a corresponding status quo ante order means nothing could be done until a pronouncement is made by the court. The senate last Wednesday ordered the boss to reappear before them today wearing his uniform to explain the rationale behind a new import duty policy released in February.
The senate had initially advised the customs to withhold the policy until it is properly vetted by the senate, only for customs to go ahead in implementing the policy.
The Attorney General of the Federation has also advised both parties to stay action on the issue of the uniform. The issue which is turning out to be a case of a power tussle between the Senate and the Nigerian Customs has seen a car reportedly belonging to Saraki seized for incomplete or fake documents. The seizure of the car is now being reported in online media as the initial reason the customs boss was invited.
The media aide to the senate president, Yusuf Olaniyonu, quoted by The Guardian, has however said that the vehicle was a product of a transaction between the Nigerian senate and a supplier. He stated that the vehicle has nothing to do with Bukola Saraki as a person.
Following the publication of the allegations in National dailies, the Senate has asked its Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to investigate the allegation. The decision was taken after a point of order was raised by Senator Ali Ndume on both the Saraki allegation and the fake certification issue of Senator Dino Melaye.
An online news platform, Sahara reporters has published a number of reports showing that Dino Melaye had at some point falsified his first degree certificate, stating that he never graduated from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The outlet also added that the senator, contrary to his claims, never graduated from Havard University. Rather, he only underwent a development course which lasted not more than a week.
In response to the allegations, Dino Melaye rubbished the reports, saying he could not be undergoing a Master’s programme at ABU if he never completed his first degree. He added that he would suspend his membership of the ethics committee pending the conclusion of the investigation.
In a fresh twist to issue on Customs uniform, the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has threatened to sue Customs Boss, Alli Hammed if he wears the customs uniform. They explained that since Alli was never commissioned into the Nigerian Customs Service but merely appointed with a clear mandate to reorganise and restructure the customs, he cannot don the uniform.
