HoR Orders Nigerian Customs Chief To Address Allegations Of Delayed Retirements

….Summons Comptroller-General

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions has summoned the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, to appear before it next Tuesday to respond to a petition concerning the refusal of some senior officials of the service to retire despite reaching their mandatory retirement dates.

The petition, filed by the Obasi-Pherson Help Foundation, alleges that several top-ranking officials, including Assistant Comptrollers and Comptrollers, have refused to step down from their positions after their retirement dates had passed. Specifically, the petition names the affected officers as Assistant Comptrollers Imam, Umar, and Egwu, as well as Comptrollers Awe, Fatia, and Faith.

The House, in issuing the summons, emphasized that the Comptroller General (CG) has a duty as a public officer to provide clarity on the situation to the Nigerian public.

“Nigerians deserve to know the truth, and only the CG can provide the necessary clarification,” said Mike Etaba, Chairman of the Committee on Public Petitions. “As elected officials, our responsibility is to serve the people, ensuring that all government agencies function efficiently. In a time when many of our youth are seeking employment, it would be unjust for older public servants who are due for retirement to delay their departure.”

In a statement signed and issued by Chooks Oko
Head, Media Public Petitions Committee, HoR, Etaba further stated, “This does not mean we will take sides in any matter; rather, we evaluate each case on its own merits, ensuring that justice is always served to those who truly deserve it.”

In a related matter, the Committee has issued a warning to the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Identity Management Commission (NIMC). The Committee threatened to order her arrest should she fail to appear in person to respond to allegations concerning the refusal to pay for a state-of-the-art software development project installed and deployed by Truid Limited, a private firm.

Truid Limited has accused the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) of breaching their license agreement. According to E.R. Opara, legal counsel for Truid Limited, the agreement was structured around Truid’s funding, development, and deployment of a tokenization system, with no financial obligations on the part of NIMC. Truid was to recoup its investment through patronage from service providers, with the proceeds shared according to an agreed-upon ratio. This arrangement was set to last for an initial period of ten years, beginning in 2021, when the software was deployed.

However, Truid Limited claims that the situation took a turn after the appointment of NIMC’s new Director-General, who has allegedly sought to terminate the agreement.

In response to the arguments from both the petitioners and the respondents, the Chairman of the Committee, Mike Etaba, expressed disappointment over the continued absence of the NIMC Director-General, despite multiple invitations to attend the proceedings.

“If she fails to appear at the next hearing, we will have no choice but to request the Inspector General of Police to ensure her attendance. It is unacceptable for a government official to treat a constituted authority with such disregard. We can no longer tolerate this behavior.”