Top Customs Officers Kick against Plan to Halt New Promotion Plan

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Some employees of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) have kicked against the plan to halt the implementation of the recently-approved Competency Based Accelerated Career Progression Plan (CBACPP) in the promotion of members of staff of the organisation.

The concerned officers, THISDAY learnt, are worried that even though the CBACPP was approved by the federal government, some persons were frustrating the implementation, under the guise that it will impact a section of the country negatively.

The government through the NCS board had recently approved the implementation of the CBACPP for officers of the service, as a ‘proactive strategy’ designed to ensure the customs is well staffed in the future.
Specifically, the NCS stated that it was meant to close the generational gap that could lead to a leadership vacuum in the higher hierarchies of the service if not addressed.

However, it was gathered that those who are opposed to the programme were doing so because they are afraid that when the new system becomes operational, a number of them who do not have the requisite educational qualifications will be side-lined.
It was gathered that the problem the NCS sought to solve arose because, before the 2009 recruitment, there was a long period when no one was recruited into the customs service.

This implies that by 2028 all the officers who joined the service before the 2009 recruitment would retire on account of their length of service.
The consequence of this, which the government tried to avoid, is that there would be some leadership gaps, as none of the officers recruited in 2009 would have risen to the rank of a comptroller.

Realising the imminent problem, the immediate past leadership of the service designed a career accelerated programme to allow officers with certain educational and professional qualifications to step up and earn expedited career progression, one source said.
Although the last leadership of the service was slow to execute it after the approval, the career accelerated programme had been approved by former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

However, there were claims that some senior officers from a certain part of the country would be short-changed by the approved career accelerated programme.
“This is considering that many of the officers from that region don’t have the requisite additional educational and professional qualifications,” a source stated.
According to the proponents of the new policy, sweeping the programme under the carpet or not implementing it would pose a danger to the continuous existence of the service.

A memo sighted by THISDAY indicated that in the next six years, all the General Duty (GD) officers recruited into the superintendent cadre before 2009 would have exited the service, either by age or 35 years statutory requirement, thereby creating serious human resources problems.

“Conscious of the challenge this could pose for the service in the nearest future, the Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC) through the board recently approved the implementation of proper placement for officers recruited into the service at the superintendent cadre between 2009 to 2015.
“This exercise, which has received wide applause, has boosted the morale of officers and has consequently narrowed the 17 years generational gap in the system.

“Despite the significant gains achieved through the proper placement, it is instructive to note that by 2028, when the current mid-level and top management officers have all retired from the service, the most senior GD officers in the service would be wearing the rank of Deputy Comptrollers (DC).
“This projection is based on the minimum number of years that an officer must spend on a rank before being considered eligible for promotion in line with Public Service Rule (PSR) Promotion maturity criterion 020701,” the memo noted.

In addition, it explained that this will therefore mean that no customs officer of the General Duty cadre would have the requisite rank or experience at the top level to head the service by 2028 if a proactive solution is not explored.

“From the foregoing, it is therefore obvious that the implementation of proper placement is the first bold step towards bridging the identified gap,” it added.
Based on the many problems that will be created if the accelerated progression plan is not executed, the new system suggested that there should be transparent criteria for the selection of officers for the programme.

To ensure promotion is made strictly based on competitive merit, at the end of the two-year career advancement programme, it noted that officers that complete the CBACPP with a pass mark of 70 per cent computed from external training, on-the-job evaluation, and service research paper should be automatically promoted to the next rank or granted a one-year waiver.

 This, it said, would fast-track the closure process and avoid the possibility of transfer of service from other agencies.
Also, to ensure the strategic objective of the CBACPP is achieved, the top 90 officers from each geo-political zone, based on seniority and performance, that would emerge from the first batch of the programme, should be drawn into a special pool that would constitute future management of the Service.

The officers, the memo said, should be closely monitored and groomed and should have additional academic qualifications aside from first degree.
Besides having additional academic qualifications, it noted that the qualified persons must have completed at least 10 courses on the World Customs Organisation (WCO), Customs Learning and Knowledge Community (CLICK) platform.

Furthermore, the new plan indicated that the persons should have attended the Junior Division or Senior Division Course, NIPSS leadership course, Martin Luther Leadership, and ASCON, among others.