Crisis In Nigeria Customs Service As All Deputy Comptroller-Generals Resign

In what appears a protest against the leadership style of
the newly appointed Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Hameed
Ali, all five Deputy Comptroller-Generals of the Nigerian Customs have
resigned.

In an unprecedented move in the history of the customs
service in the country, the five DCGs jointly announced their resignation in a
terse letter dated October 29, 2015 titled “Voluntary Retirement” addressed to
the Chairman of the Customs Board.

“We the underlisted officers currently on the rank of Deputy
Comptroller-General met today, 29 October 2015 and unanimously agreed to
voluntarily retire from the service of the Nigerian Customs Service having
risen to the privileged rank of Deputy Comptroller-General.

We need to thank the President for giving us the opportunity
to serve our great nation, Nigeria.

The letter was signed by Atte, A.J with service number
31441; Musa T.A, 31454; Mera I.M, 37595; Nwosu A.C, 34421; Adewuyi A.A, 30727.

Though they gave no reason for their resignation, it is
believed that the DCG unanimously quit service following the no-nonsense
leadership style of Mr Ali, a retired army Colonel, known for his
anti-corruption stance.

The Nigeria customs is believed to be one of the most
endemically corrupt institutions in the country and Mr. Ali was recalled from
retirement by President Muhammadu Buhari to help sanitise the agency.

The spokesperson of the customs service, Wale Adeniyi, could
not be reached for comments as at the time of publishing this story.