Reps summon Customs boss Adeniyi over officers’ refusal to retire

The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, has been invited to the House of Representatives by the House Committee on Petitions over some officers’ refusal to retire.

The Obasi-Pherson Help Foundation had alleged that some Assistant Comptrollers and Comptrollers were due for retirement but had blatantly refused to leave the service.

The House Committee’s Head of Public Petitions, Chooks Oko, had issued a statement and named the concerned officers as Imam, Umar, and Egwu, all Assistant Comptrollers, and Awe, Fatia, and Faith, all Comptrollers.

Issuing the summons, the Committee noted that the Comptroller-General has a duty as a public officer to clarify the situation to Nigerians.

The Committee noted that the Comptroller-General has a duty as a public officer to clarify the situation to the general public.

“Nigerians deserve to know the truth of the matter, and only the CG can clarify the situation. We are elected to serve the people and ensure that all government agencies function effectively as part of that service.

In this era, when most of our youths are seeking employment, it is unfair for those due for retirement to refuse to leave,” the Chairman of the Committee on Public Petitions, Mike Etaba, was quoted as saying.

“That is not to say we shall take sides—far from it. We treat each case on merit, ensuring that justice is served at all times to those who deserve it,” he added.

In recent periods, the Inspector-General of the Nigeria Police Force has also been accused of not being eligible for continuous service due to having served for over the 36 years mandatory rule for Federal Government officials.