BEVERLY HILLS, March 16, (THEWILL) – The Senate has ordered the Comptroller-General, C-G, of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali, (retd) to go home and return next week Wednesday being the 22nd of March 2017 kitted in Customs uniform.
The session, presided over by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, took a voice vote on Ali’s refusal to appear before the chamber in uniform, with many senators voting against listening to him on policies, until he appeared in uniform.
Ali was not given audience to explain the controversial policy on customs duties, which was the major reason for his invitation to the upper legislative chamber.
The NCS had given owners of vehicles, whose duties had not been paid, a deadline of April 12 for payment, threatening to prosecute those who do not comply with its directive.
The policy was later reversed “while the Senate Committee on Customs & Excise interfaces with the NCS for further discussions”.
During Thursday’s plenary, the senator representing Bauchi South, Ali Wakili, however took sides with Ali, urging his colleagues to temper justice with mercy and proceed with the matters at hand, but Senator George Sekibo, representing Rivers East, insisted that Ali must reappear before the senate, dressed in uniform.
The senator representing Rivers south-east, Magnus Abe, told the C-G to honour the request of the Senate and put on his uniform, in order to preserve the image of NCS and other government institutions of such nature.
At the end of the debate, Ekweremadu subjected the debate to a voice vote, the result of which swung against Ali.
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