By Our Correspondent
President Muhammadu Buhari has given reasons why he appointed Colonel Hameed Ali as the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service despite the opposition that trailed the appointment at that time.
Ali, a retired Army Colonel and former Military Administrator of Kaduna State under the late Military Head of State, General Sani Abacha was appointed Customs CG in 2015.
His appointment was greeted with mixed feelings as some stakeholders queried the choice of bringing someone who was not a career customs officer to head the service.
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But speaking while inaugurating the new Customs Headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday, Buhari said that he had confidence in Ali, noting that this was why he asked him to take charge of customs.
He narrated how Abacha gave tough tasks to Ali when he served as military administrator of Kaduna State in the regime of the late dictator.
The President stated further that Abacha trusted Ali to execute major tasks, adding that this was why he also chose the retired Army Colonel for the very important task of restructuring the Service,reforming customs operations and raising revenue for the country through import duties.
He said, “As for Hameed Ali, I asked him to be in charge of customs. No matter what people say about the late Sani Abacha, may his soul rest in peace.”
“I knew him very well, when somehow he became president of this country, Head of State, the biggest problematic area was around Kaduna.
“He picked Colonel Hameed Ali and dumped the problems on him. My decision for Hameed Ali to come to customs was a deliberate one. I brought Colonel Hameed Ali to ensure that I have peace of mind.”
Buhari also said he closed the country’s land borders to encourage Nigerians to produce food for their consumption.
The President had ordered border closure in 2019, a policy which generated mixed feelings.
Many igerian farmers had commended the policy as they made huge revenue from rice farming, but traders who imported goods through the borders lamented the hardship caused by the policy.
Speaking further, Buhari said although the move was initially criticized, Nigerians eventually appreciated it because of the gains recorded from its effective implementation.
He added, “Please note that from Lake Chad to Benin Republic is more than 1,600 kilometres, only God can effectively guard the borders.
“So you need a person who has the energy and the competence to supervise. I deliberately closed the borders because knowing Nigerians, they order rice, give some to Niger and the rest, and then they bring the rice here.
“With our potential, we have people, we have land, and weather – how many nations are as lucky as Nigeria in the world, very few nations.
“So closing that border, 1,600 kilometres, Nigerians insist they eat boiled rice – you eat what you grow or you die. I tried to make my point and later Nigerians appreciated it.”
Earlier in his address of welcome, Ali said the building complex would serve as a boost to the men and officers of the service to put in their best in guarding the border, generating revenue and facilitating trade.
He commended the President for his approval for a increase in the salaries of customs personnel, noting that this has made them less susceptible to corruption.
He said, “We must mention the game-changing intervention of Mr President to rid the NCS of corruption and put it on a path of integrity.
“The 100 percent increase in the remuneration for officers and men of the service decisively made them less susceptible to corruption.”
The edifice is estimated to have gulped the sum of N19.6bn.
The Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs, Wale Adeniyi, who is also the Chairman of the committee for the inauguration of the project, said the office complex was conceived during the tenure of Alhaji Mustapha Aliyu as Comptroller-General of customs in 2002.
He said the main work for the project started in 2007, noting that the initial model had undergone redesigned and modification until this edifice was arrived at.
Adeniyi said the building is made up of three main wings comprising two wings of five floors and bridges linking them to them to the main tower which is at the middle of the facility. The tower, he said is made up of 12 floors.
Adeniyi added that the need to build the office was as a result of the increase in the number of customs officers as well as the need to have the much needed space and state-of-the-art facilities to carry out the mandate of the Service.
He added that the equipment that are needed to monitor the border operations have also been installed in the facility.
