Anxiety in Customs over who becomes new comptroller-general

There is a state of anxious uncertainty at the headquarters of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in Abuja following the delay in naming a new comptroller general to succeed Dikko Inde Abdullahi who resigned from office recently.Abdullahi bowed out of the NCS on Monday after six years in the saddle. The fear by topmost echelon of Customs, The Guardian learnt, is informed by the consequence of appointing a junior officer over superior ones, which will lead to immediate retirement of the affected senior officers from the service.

When The Guardian visited the Customs headquarters, it was observed that the atmosphere was tense with heightened security, as worry could be seen on the faces of the officers, right from the main entrance to the offices within the building housing the country’s third revenue earner.

Officers at the Public Relations Department maintained cautious disposition, refusing to be quoted on the issue of replacement of the comptroller-general.

One of the of the officers who spoke under condition of anonymity, said: “I am not granting you an interview on the new CGC appointment because nobody is sure within the service here who is going to replace our outgoing CGC. In fact, I can confess to you that even the outgoing CGC does not know who is replacing him.

The appointment rests solely with the President. That is why if you have observed, since you have been here, you would have discovered that the atmosphere is very tense and pregnant with what we don’t know yet.’’