Leke
Baiyewu, Olaleye Aluko, Bayo Akinloye and Oladimeji Ramon
The
Senate, on Thursday, refused to grant the Comptroller General, Nigeria Customs
Service, Col. Hameed Ali (retd.), audience, describing the dressing of the NCS
boss as “improper.”
The
lawmakers asked Ali to reappear on Wednesday next week in the uniform of the
NCS.
The
Senate had said the retired colonel must appear before it in NCS uniform,
depicting his rank as the DG.
While Ali
was waiting to be called into the chamber in the office of the Senior Special
Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita
Enang, the lawmakers held an executive session, which started at about 10.45am
and lasted for about 25 minutes.
When Ali,
who came for the session in white babaringa, was invited into the
chamber by the Committee of the Whole, he was challenged for appearing before
the lawmakers in mufti.
The
Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the
plenary, asked Ali why he failed to appear in uniform as requested.
In his
response, the Customs boss said in the last letter from the Senate to him, the
lawmakers did not state that he should appear in uniform.
“What I
am saying, Mr.President, is that this letter did not connote that I should wear
uniform. It is in obedience to this letter that I am here,” he said.
Ekweremadu,
however, said the last letter only served as a reminder to the first letter to
Ali, in which the Senate asked him to appear before the lawmakers in NCS
uniform.
He said,
“We have listened to you but as you read in the letter, it said ‘further to the
earlier letter’ and the first indicated that you should appear in uniform. This
(second letter) is more like a reminder. And more importantly, this is an
official invitation.
“We have
invited CGs of Customs here before; we have invited Army officers here before –
the service chiefs, included the Inspector General of Police – and they have
all been here in their appropriate uniforms. If you have any reason why you
should not be in uniform, you should oblige us.”
Ali,
however, stated that he had not flouted any known law of the Customs by not
appearing in uniform.
“My not
wearing uniform has not gone contrary to the Act of the Customs. There is no
law, to my knowledge, that compels me to wear the uniform. As such, I have no
rule before me that says during my service, I have to wear uniform,” he said.
The
Deputy Majority Leader, Senator Bala Na’Allah, recalled that he moved the
motion that led to the invitation of the Customs boss, noting that it was
necessitated by the public outcry that followed the directive of the NCS that
Nigerians should pay duties on old vehicles already in the country.
He said,
“Unfortunately, it was alleged that in reaction to that resolution, you
allegedly made certain comments that appeared to be derogatory to the institution
of the Senate by saying the Senate has no business (with) whether you wear the
uniform or not.
“Now, the
Senate is not privileged to see your letter of appointment but what is
important is that you issued that circular in your capacity as the Comptroller
General and at all material time, you have answered and acted in the office of
the CG.”
Also,
Senator Olamilekan Adeola accused the Customs CG of flouting the resolution of
the Senate, being the highest lawmaking body in the country.
He said,
“The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria issued out a resolution and the
content of the resolution is crystal clear, which states that the Comptroller
General of Customs appear before us in his uniform. The resolution still
stands. But what is happening here today is contrary to the resolution passed
by the 109 senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Anybody
can dress in mufti and call himself the CG. The Comptroller General is a rank
and if the rank is not here, I don’t know who is before us. Yes, they have
identified the CG but the question still remains that he still needs to appear
before us in full uniform as the Comptroller General of Customs.”
Senator
Jibrin Barau also said the lawmakers should not allow Ali to speak before the
Senate until he appeared in uniform.
Senator
Ali Wakili however criticised the Customs boss as grandstanding against the
resolution of the Senate.
He said,
“I regret his grandstanding. I saw him on TVC when he was grandstanding,
that he was not going to wear the uniform. None of us has ever doubted his
integrity and his performance. The only nitty-gritty is that we are the real
representatives of the people. When the issue of this circular and the border
came up, and we came up with a resolution, and the Customs bragged and even
went to the public; those are some of the issues.”
The
Senate, after the debate, resolved that the Customs CG be asked to return to
the Senate on Wednesday next week in the NCS uniform.
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