The League of Maritime Editors (LOME) has asked the Federal government to grant the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) autonomy as obtained in other revenue yielding agencies of government such as the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and Federal Inland Revenue Services, FIRS.
The League also requested the National Assembly, to carry out a fresh amendment of the Customs Act 2023, to provide for specific tenure for any serving Comptroller General of the Service and other appointees.
In a press statement signed by the President, League of Maritime Editors, Remi Itie and Public Relations Officer, Francis Ugwoke, the editors pointed out that after the Customs and Excise Management Act(CEMA) amendment, which paved the way for reforms on modernization of its operations, there appears to be a missing link.
The Group, said decades of clamour for the autonomy of the Service, and indeed, specific tenure for appointees in the management cadre of the Service, including the Comptroller-General of the Service, Deputy Comptroller-General and Assistant Comptrollers General was left out.
The Editors said the government should provide for four or five years tenure in the amendment, noting that the approach would make room for improved service delivery and stability in the Service.
The group identified the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) as agencies of government that have specific tenures for their Chief Executive officers.
Recall that the House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise had given an indication of planning an amendment of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023.
Chairman of the Committee, Honourable Leke Abejide during a recent visit to the Lagos ports pointed this out, promising that part of the amendment would be to ensure a four-year statutory tenure for any serving Comptroller-General of Customs (CGC).
Abeide had expressed regret that the 2023 Nigeria Customs Service Act failed to stipulate this in its provisions.
