Vehicle Import Duty: Senate Summons Customs C-G, To Appear In Uniform
The verbal war between the Senate and Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, appears to have taken a different dimension, as the Senate, yesterday, summoned the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (retd), to appear before it, Wednesday, in complete official uniform.
The Senate had, Tuesday, directed the NCS to stop its plan to impose import duty on vehicles purchased through the land border from 2015, but the Customs flouted the order the following day, insisting on going ahead with the plan, though it granted vehicle owners 60 per cent rebate on duty to be paid.
However, angry senators, yesterday, specifically warned the NCS boss not to appear in Babaringa or Kafta, and to also explain why he decided to flout a resolution passed by the Senate.
The Senate also said it would put machinery in place to amend the act establishing the Customs, since it was already obsolete.
Senators who spoke on the agency’s plans to collect duties on old and new vehicles already in the country, said the Customs’ plan ran contrary to the law establishing it.
The resolution of the Senate, yesterday, was sequel to a point of Order by Senator Dino Melaye, APC, Kogi West, who relied on Order 42 to draw attention of the Senate to what he described as absolute disregard to the resolution of the Red Chamber on the soon-to-be introduced policy which is scheduled to be enforced on April 12. Melaye said: “Mr President, democracy is standing on three legs. One of the most important legs of democracy is the legislature and Nigerian Customs cannot function without the National Assembly. ‘’This is because they cannot spend or survive without appropriations and oversight and if this Senate takes a resolution and an agency of government will have the temerity to blatantly disregard the entire institution of the Nigerian Senate, it is a very dark day for democracy. “I am a member of the Customs committee and I want to educate some of us today on the position of the Comptroller-General of Customs. It is a rank and as I speak today, we have Deputy Comptroller-Generals of Customs. ‘’Their next promotion, if it comes, is Comptroller-General of Customs and we have asked this man (Hameed Ali) in the committee why he does not wear the rank of a Comptroller-General and he said uniform men do not wear uniform twice.”
In his contribution, Senate Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan, APC, Yobe North, urged the Customs boss to put his house in order and ensure that borders were well policed to avoid smuggling of cars and other goods into the country.
In his remarks, Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over yesterdays plenary, ordered the troubled Customs boss to appear before the Senate.
Ekweremadu said: “I think it’s something that is of concern to all of us and the activities of Customs lately are of concern to all of us. Part of our responsibilities as parliamentarians is to maintain peace and anything that will cause the breach of peace must not be allowed to stand.”
