THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in
partnership with the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) Tuesday kicked off
an introspective anti-corruption campaign aimed at purging Customs
officers of corrupt tendencies.
The development appears a direct response to the alarm raised recently by the Federal Government about the alleged raging criminality in two revenue-generating agencies - the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
The agencies’ officials were alleged to have been involved in diversion of revenue meant for the Federation Account into private pockets by some revenue collecting banks.
At the launch of the initiative which would see officers of the EFCC posted to Customs’ strategic units and posts to assist the agency in the control of revenue loss and tackle the menace of smuggling, the Executive Chairman of the anti-graft agency, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, said the initiative may not work except there is high moral standing by officers and men of the NCS. He advised the Comptroller General of Customs to establish an integrity unit to handle the task.
“I call on the Comptroller General to accept my proposal for the establishment of an NCS Integrity Unit in the Nigeria Customs Service. The unit is expected to be the rallying point for the promotion of transparency and accountability in the NCS towards achieving the mandate of the Service to the glory of our fatherland.
“The experiences shared and lessons learnt from this interaction and the ones scheduled to hold in various Customs Commands around the country, I believe, should be the resilient framework on which the relationship between our two agencies should be built.
“This public education and sensitisation campaign has come a long way. In the recent past, similar campaigns have been extended to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, Ministry of Transport and ACTU, to mention a few,” Lamorde said.
The Customs Comptroller General, Mr. Dikki Inde Abdullahi, who said his agency was embarking on the campaign because of its adoption of a zero tolerance for corruption, charged his men and officers as well as the stakeholders to evaluate their consciences anytime they are under pressure to compromise themselves.
“In embarking on this anti-corruption journey, we have fully prepared our officers and men for zero tolerance through our six-point agenda. We have improved their capacity through training, we have boosted their welfare through increased salaries. We have equally introduced full automation into our processes to reduce physical contacts and the environment for corruption.
“I therefore urge all our stakeholders, and indeed, the generality of Nigerians to support us in this historic campaign to instill integrity into our operations.
Each time you are tempted to induce our officers, or when our officers are pressured to compromise their position, I urge you to ask yourselves: How much money is enough? How much is enough to compromise national security?
How much is enough to keep factories closed? How much is enough to keep unemployed graduates on the streets? And how much is enough to compromise our collective good?”
The development appears a direct response to the alarm raised recently by the Federal Government about the alleged raging criminality in two revenue-generating agencies - the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
The agencies’ officials were alleged to have been involved in diversion of revenue meant for the Federation Account into private pockets by some revenue collecting banks.
At the launch of the initiative which would see officers of the EFCC posted to Customs’ strategic units and posts to assist the agency in the control of revenue loss and tackle the menace of smuggling, the Executive Chairman of the anti-graft agency, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, said the initiative may not work except there is high moral standing by officers and men of the NCS. He advised the Comptroller General of Customs to establish an integrity unit to handle the task.
“I call on the Comptroller General to accept my proposal for the establishment of an NCS Integrity Unit in the Nigeria Customs Service. The unit is expected to be the rallying point for the promotion of transparency and accountability in the NCS towards achieving the mandate of the Service to the glory of our fatherland.
“The experiences shared and lessons learnt from this interaction and the ones scheduled to hold in various Customs Commands around the country, I believe, should be the resilient framework on which the relationship between our two agencies should be built.
“This public education and sensitisation campaign has come a long way. In the recent past, similar campaigns have been extended to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, Ministry of Transport and ACTU, to mention a few,” Lamorde said.
The Customs Comptroller General, Mr. Dikki Inde Abdullahi, who said his agency was embarking on the campaign because of its adoption of a zero tolerance for corruption, charged his men and officers as well as the stakeholders to evaluate their consciences anytime they are under pressure to compromise themselves.
“In embarking on this anti-corruption journey, we have fully prepared our officers and men for zero tolerance through our six-point agenda. We have improved their capacity through training, we have boosted their welfare through increased salaries. We have equally introduced full automation into our processes to reduce physical contacts and the environment for corruption.
“I therefore urge all our stakeholders, and indeed, the generality of Nigerians to support us in this historic campaign to instill integrity into our operations.
Each time you are tempted to induce our officers, or when our officers are pressured to compromise their position, I urge you to ask yourselves: How much money is enough? How much is enough to compromise national security?
How much is enough to keep factories closed? How much is enough to keep unemployed graduates on the streets? And how much is enough to compromise our collective good?”
No comments:
Post a Comment