Stakeholders in the maritime industry have praised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for removing Hameed Ali as Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
According to news reports, Tinubu retired Ali on Monday and replaced him as acting DG of Customs with Wale Adeniyi.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation made this known to journalists in a statement.
Responding to Ali’s departure, stakeholders have demanded that he be investigated for destroying trade facilitation in the industry and the economy as a whole.
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They said Ali enacted many anti-trade policies that hampered trade facilitation in the country, causing investors and cargoes to flee to neighboring countries, causing the country to lose billions of dollars.
Former member of the Presidential Committee on Destination Inspection and the Ministerial Committee on Fiscal Policy and Import Clearance Procedure, Lucky Amiwero, told The Guardian that Ali’s dismissal is for the sake of the marine industry and the economy.
He cautioned President Tinubu from making such political appointments in the industry.
Amiwero urged Tinubu to investigate Ali’s activities during his time in the Nigeria Customs Service, stressing that many things went wrong.
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He said: “Tinubu should probe Ali’s activities in the Nigeria Customs Service because a lot of things went wrong. He destroyed the maritime system. Customs is not a military service, it is a procedural service that has linkage with the World Customs Organisation (WCO). He doesn’t know anything about Customs operations. He came to reform Customs by destroying the entire system. There is need for the reorganisation of customs and probing his activities for the number of years he spent in the service.”
Taiwo Fatomilola, National Public Relations Officer of the Association of Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (AREFFN), stated Ali’s removal is the best thing that has happened to Nigeria, particularly the economy, importation, and the entire marine business.
“Removing Ali is the best thing in Nigeria because he has been a curse to the economy and trade facilitation. He doesn’t have a single understanding of how customs operates, he is just a political appointee by the former president Muhammadu Buhari.
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“When he was there, he allowed the embattled former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele to determine what happens in the Customs, the target and talking about benefits.
“For Emefiele to say the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) is an advisory note, it shouldn’t be. His removal is the best for Nigeria’s economy, importation and for the entire maritime industry,” he said.
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