NCS: The Search for a New CGC
Intrigue and excitement envelope the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), as the presidency shops for a new Comptroller General of Customs (CGC)
By Innocent Chukwu

Buba Gyang

Indications abound that the presidency may have embarked upon a discreet search for a tough, seasoned and dedicated officer to take over the mantle of leadership at the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) from the incumbent helmsman, Elder Jacob Gyang Buba.
The search, The Source's reliably gathered, is not unconnected with certain short-comings of the present management of the parastatal which sources said President Olusegun Obasanjo is not comfortable with.
A presidency source confided in The Source that ever since the hint of a new Comptroller General (CGC) filtered into the service, there have been intrigues and schemings amongst the top hierarchy, over who would clinch the enviable position. Remarkably, the presidency has been watching, with keen interest, the level of lobbying by officers who feel they are most suitable for the plum job.
Investigations by The Source reveal that there are, however, many contentious issues which confront the current administration of the service which it has failed to adequetely grapple with, especially as it concerns efficiency. In fact, since former Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala berated the top echelon of the Customs for condoning inefficiency at all its levels, sources say that the President had since then developed scepticism for the NCS.
Further investigations reveal that the President somehow appears to have developed a soft-spot for the Buba-led management because it is allegedly linked with the President’s economic team which promotes the partnering role of the Customs before the president.
However, in a recent chat with some presidential aides, who wish to remain anonymous, it was revealed that the presidency, apart from the alleged inefficiency in the Customs, has developed other grouses against the NCS. First, they point out that the NCS allegedly aborted an almost concluded contract with Crown Agents of the United Kingdom, which was in line with the Obasanjo administration’s reform agenda. Okonjo-Iweala confirmed this much at the Customs CG’s conference in Jos, Plateau State, last year.
They also point to the issue of container flight of last year which resulted in a big scandal in the service because the CG, Buba was alleged to have been in the know.
According to investigations, a group of recently retired and sacked officers of the NCS had petitioned the President, alleging that the CG had failed to utilise the seven per cent duty collection to enhance the living standard of officers and men of the service; instead, the money, they alleged, was diverted to other areas aimed at personal enrichment.
The seven per cent cost of duty collection allowance was approved for the agency last year by the Federal Government to run the service and improve on the living standard of the officers. It consists of seven per cent deducted from all duties collected by the customs onbehalf of the Federal Government.
It was learnt that the petition indicted the Customs boss for allegedly cornering a large chunk of the money into private businesses which have no bearing on the welfare of the officers.
At Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, not a few officers lamented that “the purpose of the seven per cent duty collection bonus has been defeated.” Many infact volunteered to lay their payslip on the table for The Source to see that nothing new has been added to their salary scale or allowances.
These set of officers claim that “we are suffering" as according to them, “because of the port reform and destination inspection, the ports are dry. We don’t get any additional income apart from our salaries. The management is eating the money alone. Let them increase our salaries and allowances as that is what the money is meant for.”
The officers said though the seven per cent bonus may not be huge an amount, as was initially conceived because of the recently introduced Common External Tariff (CET), it is noteworthy that the number of Customs officers and men currently is not more than 10,000, so even if the amount is reduced, it would still go a long way to improve the welfare of the officers.
Based on The Source’s finding, the most annoying aspect to the officers is what they tagged the “empty promises” of their leaders. They lament that last year they were promised increased salaries that could measure up with those in the energy sector. Other promises include; loans, medical facilities, accommodation and transport allowances. However, investigations reveal that these remunerations still remain elusive.
Besides the fore-going, many officers who volunteered comments to The Source decried what they call “incessant tasking of our area controllers by the men at the top.” They alleged that Customs Area Controllers (CAC) are being tasked huge amounts of money by the Buba-led management on regular basis. This, they say, is intended to pauperise the commands and by exsension the officers working in such commands.
The Source gathered reliably that the President is not particularly impressed by the internal wranglings that tends to erode espirit de’ corps in the service since the Buba administration. Recently, a case in hand is the resignation of a Deputy Comptroller General (DCG), Abubakar Mallam, who reportedly resigned voluntarily in order to pursue a political career.
Dependable sources said that top customs offices have been at each other’s jugular in a quest to replace Mallam. According to competent sources, there have been intense divisions, squabble and arm-twisting over which faction will emerge a winner in the ensuing war of attrition. As a result, The Source was told no one has been chosen or recommended to the presidency to fill the vacancy.
Besides, the handling of the destination inspection scheme has become an albatross for the Customs. Though regarded as a trivial matter, it was gathered that the Federal Government is not pleased with various negative reports it gets regarding the scheme, even when the NCS claims are to the contrary.
The Source was told that the internal wrangling has been intensified by a scheme to deploy “young, energetic and goal-oriented senior officers” into the Customs Intelligent Unit (CIU). This plot is allegedly aimed at using such officers to replace those that would be retired alongside Buba.
This calculation, The Source gathered, is not unprecedented as it had its debut in 2004 when many officers from the unit were promoted two or three steps ahead of their seniors and many of them were drafted into lucrative departments and commands.
Reliable investigations revealed that many customs topshots are not comfortable with the development as its climax will see many senior offiers due for promotion, denied promoted or deployed to less juicy locations. Hence, the deployment has been generating rancour in the service.
A top customs source disclosed that the new officers drafted to the CIU occasionally meet with a highly placed officer in Abuja, but the agenda of such meeting, they said, has remained unknown. They hint that one of such meetings recently coincided with the customs management meeting and as a result both meetings could not hold especially as the CG was said to have disapproved of the CIU meeting.
The Source gathered that the newly deployed CIU officers are mostly graduates of reputable universities. “They are smart, articulate and versed in the operations of the service”, one officer said. Their deployment, it was learnt, will also enable the service to redeem its lost image because most of them are known to be knowledgeable in management and public relations. Their promotion, it was further learnt, will see the exit of many “old school officers” who are more or less redundant.
But as the rumour of the Federal Governments decision to effect changes in the customs leadership grows, many top customs officers who consider themselves fit to occupy the service’s number one seat are not leaving anything to chance.
The Source learnt that many officers are already warming up and lobbying their way through to the president via his foot soldiers. According to customs sources, those touted as possible favourites include Comptroller Umar Musa Daura, CAC, Federal Operations Unit (FOU) and Comptroller Ali Wakili of customs headquarters, Abuja. Both were comptrollers in 2004 before the ‘palace coup’ that ushered in the new management.
Daura, a fearless and unrelenting comptroller, according to his admirers, is yet to recover from the shock of working under and reporting to his former juniors as his bosses. Indeed, besides his anti-smuggling forays, many argue that he (Daura) may not be chosen because he is not academically sound enough (though educated) and has the tendency of being temperamental.
But for Wakili, he was among the contenders for the CGC position in 2004 alongside Comptrollers Anslem Nwadike (rtd), Ralph Asakome (rtd) and a host of others. Having just graduated from the reputable National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), which qualifies him to attache the prefix, MNI to his name, Wakili is considered a better administrator than his contemporaries.
His name is notably often mentioned when the issue of new CGC is being discussed. Last year, during the Customs annual conference in Jos, Plateau State, Wakili’s name cropped up again after he conducted a retinue of journalists round tourist spots in his home state of Bauchi. Some infact, regarded the gesture as a flag-off of his campaign for the post of CGC.
Other CGC favourites, The Source was told, are ACG Ade Fadahunsi, Sani Nuhu Abubakar and Dr. Bernard Nwadialor. The three are said to represent the WAZOBIA face of the race even though they have not shown public interest in the plum job yet.
Nwadialor is an academic and currently heads the Customs Finance and Technical Services (FATS) department at the service’s Abuja headquarters. But many say that the odds against the Imo State- born officer is that the lot may not fall to the eastern states.
However, the above may not apply to Fadahunsi who is from the South-western part of the country. There are, infact, allegations that Fada (as he is fondly called) is seriously lobbying for the post using Afenifere, the Yoruba socio-cultural organisation as launch pad to convince the president of his eligibility for the top job.
But many fear that Fadahunsi is not sound in speech making and in addressing big audiences. They draw attention to the last Customs conference in Jos, when Fadahunsi presented a paper on Crossborder anti-smuggling. According to analysts, the paper was unique and articulate, but the presentation was adjudged very poor. Even, many Customs officers argue that Fadahunsi is better fitted in anti-smuggling than in leadership.
Currently, Fadahunsi heads the Enforcement and Drugs Department, Abuja and maintains a liaison officer that complements Daura in Lagos, Fadahunsi, was a Deputy Comptroller in 2004 before his promotion to ACG.
Instructively, the odds appear to favour an acclaimed maverick office, ACG Abubakar. who controls access at the Customs headquarters as ACG, headquarters. The office commands the highest respect next to that of the CGC; as it were, Abubakar is in some quarters regarded as a defacto CGC.
Besides being a member of many Federal Government committees, Abubakar, many say, has links with the who-is-who in President Obasanjo’s economic team, and since the CGC post is a political office, many believe that Abubakar might be the most favoured afterall.
On several occasions when maritime reporters repeatedly asked him about his interest in the job, Abubakar’s response has always remained simple and succinct: “It is God and the Federal Government that will decide that”. Besides this, Abubakar is said to have endeared himself to the federal authorities because of the huge revenue he has often saved for the nation through his headship of several task forcecs which often unearthened the devious plans of importers and freight forwarders.
The Source got across to Wale Adeniyi, a Chief Suprintendent of Customs (CSC) and image maker of the organisation for his comments on the issues. Adeniyi replied by saying that he was not aware if the Federal Government was shopping for a new CGC.
But on the seven per cent duty collection bonus, which officers allege has not reflected in their salaries and allowances, Adeniyi said emphatically, “that is not correct. Officers’ allowances have been reviewed (upwards). Now, 40 per cent increase has been added to the allowances, including medical and housing.”