Mojeed Mohammed (Freight forwarder)
The activity of the Customs is under the supervision and control of the federal government, and why should they be probe. The power sector that was probed, what has been the outcome; our money should not be wasted because Customs has really tried a lot when it comes to the issue of revenue generation for our country.
The Nigeria Customs Service is surpassing their targets every year and how much are the officers paid, but they still work, they should be encouraged rather than probed. I think they should give the Customs a breathing space and leave them alone.
Michael Oge (Clearing Agent)
What I think they need is more than just probing, the only area I think they should help is by lifting the ban from cars coming into Nigeria from Cotonou and increasing it from 10 years to say 12 or i5years.
They should also look at means of making life more bearable for these people because it will reduce the rate of corruption amongst the customs officers, because if this is not checked, after the current Comptroller General’s tenure, we will still come back to probe. So, I believe we should create more means of generating revenue rather than bring issue of probe, because we don’t foresee any result coming from the exercise.
Ikechukwu Azuh (Clearing Agent)
The Customs that we are talking about here collects revenue for the country, if you say the people invited are to be interrogated, and then there is more to it.
Those interrogating or probing the Customs too are not free from corruption and probe as well.
It would have been better if attention is shifted into ideas on how to create avenues for Customs to collect more revenue for the government rather than wasting time and money on probe issues.
All the necessary probes are only pronounced, what comes next is not known or made open to the public, so we are tired of these noise of probe.
Akinloye Ojo (Clearing Agent)
I am in support and it’s necessary. Looking at this people, there is a lot that they ought to do that they are not doing.
These Customs’s CGs are the ones encouraging smuggling through money they collect from their junior officers at various locations.
The rate of corruption is high in the ports, what do we do, if this problem is not stopped at the top, it wont be stopped because they want you to bring revenue on goods imported especially on issues where they should arrest the importer who has committed an offence, but instead they collect money. If they are probed they will sit right and do better.
Akanni Balogun(Clearing Agent)
I am not in support of any probe, corruption is an endemic problem that has gone deep in all fibres of Nigerian economic sector.
There is no sector that is not corrupt, if someone will sit at the House to probe, they should check themselves to see if they are clean, they fight in the House all the time.
If anybody should talk of probe, it shouldn’t be the National Assembly.
The law that establishes Customs and which they operate gives room for suspicions. Here is an organization that is given sole authority as revenue collector for government. How much are they being paid and these money pass through them to the government coffers and some don’t even have something to show for their labour. All these are tempting.
If the probe must continue, it must be from the scratch, but, they are not clean, all these are exercise futility. The customs are given targets and they surpass it most times, so what is the need of the probe.
I am not a customs officer and am not speaking for them, but the truth must be told.
Chief Achike Molokwu (V.Chair, ANLCA Tin Can)
In my opinion, I will support the investigation not probing because probing fails at the end of the day. Customs is all about tax and tax is government, if the comptrollers are given duty to get revenue they are to give account of stewardship when they are there or when they are leaving.
In the case of Customs, it’s not like that, no reports of activities in the media, except handover which is not proper.
They should face the public annually, because all monies generated come from us.
Customs should read out reports of all revenue generated from land, sea and air so that the people can have idea of what they are doing.
I support the idea that the National Assembly should investigate them and not probe.
Adeshina Sarumi (Civil Servant)
If it is a probe that will address situations on ground, it’s welcome, but if its going to be like every other ones we have seen and it won’t have any effect on the way Customs affair is being managed, then its nothing to write home about.
If it’s such that after the probe, there will be recommendations as to how Customs will be better managed at the border posts, seaports and airports, then it is a welcomed idea, but if otherwise they should not waste national time and finance because they themselves need to be probed.
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