Senator Faults Customs Service Recruitment And Postings
Deputy Chairman of the Senate Committee on Customs, Senator Francis Fadahunsi has faulted the ongoing recruitment exercise by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) describing it as fraudulent.
The Senator in a statement he personally signed and made available to newsmen in Osogbo stated that the Comptroller General of the NCS, Hammed Ali, was being economical with the truth on the recruitment into the service and should not be trusted.
Fadahunsi, who recently raised the alarm that the Customs boss is using N1.6 billion for the recruitment of just 3,200 new officers, was reacting to a clarification by the NCS that the money in question is meant for not just recruitment but also the six months training of those to be recruited.
The Osun East lawmaker, in his statement, said the only reason CG Ali can give for outsourcing the recruitment and training of personnel to outsiders is to find jobs for the boys.
Fadahunsi, a retired Assistant Comptroller General of Customs also queried the deployment of an army general, as the Principal Staff Officer (PSO) to CG Ali, describing it as anomaly that has been taken too far.
According to him, NCS has more than enough qualified officers to carry out its operations adding that a situation where it has been reduced to an annex of the Nigeria Army is not the best for this nation.
“This army General has been working with Ali as PSO for the past four and a half years. This is to the detriment of professional Customs officers. This same army general is alleged to have taken over the function of the posting committee, as he now handles exclusively the posting of Comptroller, Assistant Comptrollers and Deputy Comptrollers.
“It is disheartening that since Ali became the CG, professionals in the service have been rendered useless and have been dealt with several emotional and psychological blows that have no doubt affected their productivity.”
Fadahunsi who said he does not have any personal issues against Ali however called on the President to rescue the service and also ask the Chief of Army staff why a General will be PSO to a retired Colonel who is on appointment with the Customs service.
