Following the brouhaha in the imminent retirement of top officers of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has proffered a solution.
To this end, it has written an open letter President Bola Tinubu enjoining him to extend by one year the mass due retirement of what it called “seasoned Customs Officers” expected to retire in December 2026.
The request of the association was contained in a statement issued in Nigeria’s commercial centre, Lagos and signed by its Secretary General, Mr. Godfrey Nwosu.
Titled: “The Matter of Mass Due Retirement of Seasoned Management Officers of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS)”, the association appealed to the President to extend the tenure of all NCS officers retiring by December 2026 by one year.
It noted that the one year should be used to train and prepare the upcoming young officers taking over from them to face the challenges of international trade in Nigeria.
Excerpts of the letter obtained by Maritime Bits said: “Mr. President, we write this letter to you from our strategic position in the maritime trade and transportation at the Nigeria gateways. We are worried that the officers should not be let go in one swoop because Customs is a very strategic organisation in Nigeria, dealing directly in the implementation of fiscal policies of Nigeria trade matters.”
Continuing, NAGAFF said: “The impending consequences of allowing these officers to go in a swoop shall definitely affect your hope for Nigeria’s redemption.
We have noted the efforts of the Comptroller General of Customs and his management team, who are currently placing these young officers in strategic positions in the administration and management of the NCS. This underscores our worries, and to that extent, a one-year extension shall be most appropriate to stabilize these young officers for the challenges ahead.
“The good news is that these young officers are willing and prepared to take the challenges at the appropriate time. Mr. President, we are speaking to you from the heartbeat of Nigeria’s economy. As we speak now, Nigeria is virtually a dumping ground for fake and adulterated products as a result of inherent lapses in the implementation of the single window platform. As we speak, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), NAFDAC, NESREA, among others, have been denied their statutory responsibilities. Today Nigeria is a dumping ground for fake products from Asian countries.”
According to NAGAFF, NCS is battling with the situation with long-established relationships with freight forwarding practitioners. All of us in the NAGAFF family are most grateful to you for your courage to disengage and dismantle the petroleum subsidy.
Giving further insight into why it made the suggestion, it said: “We know that when you pursue corruption, the return is that corruption shall pursue you. Remain strong at heart in the interest of Nigerians. NAGAFF is the umbrella body of all freight forwarding practitioners in Nigeria. Our large followership nationwide and members are with you in your efforts to revive Nigeria of our dreams.”
Among other persons, the letter was copied to the founder of NAGAFF, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam; Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume; President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio; and the Comptroller General of Customs, Dr. Adewale Bashir Adeniyi.
