Ex-Customs Boss Hails Adeniyi’s Appointment  as CG, NCS

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

A retired Deputy Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service(NCS), Senator Francis Fadahunsi, has said the appointment of a serving officer as the acting Comptroller General of the NCS was a right step in the right direction.

President Bola Tinubu on Monday, appointed Bashir Adewale Adeniyi as the acting Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs.

Adeniyi possesses over 30 years experience in Customs administration covering strategic and operational responsibilities.

He replaced a retired Army colonel, Hameed Ibrahim Ali, who was responsible for the overall management and direction of the Service in the last eight years.

Ali was equally the accounting officer of the service.

Reacting to the development yesterday, Fadahunsi, who was the vice – chairman, Committee on Customs and Excise in the 9th Senate, expressed the hope that nation’s revenue would experience  a boost with Adeniyi’s appointment.

He said: “It is customary with the military government to appoint a soldier to head the NCS. That was what we experienced throughout the eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari, despite being a civilian president.

“I am grateful to President Bola Tinubu for heeding our genuine calls by appointing a core professional to head the NCS.”

Fadahunsi, who is representing the Osun East Senatorial District in the 10th Senate, urged President Tinubu, to mandate the nation’s legal team, to review the concession of the NCS by the Buhari administration.

He lamented that Tinubu’s predecessor had mortgaged the country by the concession arrangements which according to him, had automatically transferred the nation’s revenue to private pockets.

He kicked against the planned merger of the nation’s major revenue generating agencies, stressing that it was against international best practices.

He said: “It is not proper to merge the NCS with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, (NIMASA) under one body. It will encourage massive corruption, ineptitude and gross inefficiency.

“There are various measures to achieve revenue boost if experienced and capable hands are brought on board to head the agencies.

“The appointment of competent, incorruptible professionals as we have witnessed in the NCS would help the President to boost the nation’s revenue in the affected agencies.

“The proposed merger will lead to conflict of interest and in the process, the purpose for which the plan was meant to achieve, would be defeated.

“So, the agencies, particularly the NCS has to be left alone as an independent body, just as it is being practised all over the World.”

The Senator urged the leadership of the 10th National Assembly to complement the efforts of the Tinubu administration by also ensuring an effective oversight of the federal agencies.

He said: “Experienced lawmakers who are knowledgeable in revenue generation should be appointed into committees that would oversee the key revenue generating agencies.

“This is a very critical period where all the arms of government should embrace competence instead of making appointments purely on political patronage.

“In the last eight years for instance, the NCS had a retired soldier as the CGS while the Senate also had  another retired soldier as the Chairman of the Committee which is carrying out oversight functions on the agency.

“I wonder how anybody would expect a miracle in that regard,” Fadahunsi added.