Group Expresses Worries Over Customs Recurring Server Failures

MICHAEL AKINOLA

A group of Customs Licensed Agents have rued the recurring server failures at some ports in the country, a development that is hindering clearing of goods in record time.

In a statement on Tuesday, the group said the constant server failure has painted the Nigeria Customs like “a black goat” making the agents to incur needless demurrage from shipping companies and terminal operators.

“To mention just a few of its failures that have painted the Nigeria Custom like a black goat, one is the recurring server failures. The said server failure also affects the revenue drive of the various customs commands and that many of the Customs Area Controllers are frustrated but they cannot speak out because the matter is above their pay grade,” the group alleged.

According to the group, while some complained that the agency is understaffed, “at every of its recruitment exercises there have always been cases of scandals on employing the right candidates with acts of nepotism on the parts of high ranking officers who always give preference to their own who are not qualified for the job.”

They make reference to the 2023 recruitment exercise where some applicants accused the Customs top shots of deliberately refusing to give them the job despite passing all tests conducted by the government institution.

“The aggrieved individuals revealed that despite publishing their names as successful candidates in national newspapers, the NCS left them out to admit others whose names were not listed originally,” the group further alleged.

In recent times, the Nigeria Customs has been in the news for various not too pleasant reasons.

In February 2024, a popular online platform claimed that at least 40 NCS personnel, most of them in the service’s highest hierarchy were indicted in a robust Economic and financial crime commission (EFCC) investigation into the proceeds of bribes paid to customs officials by smugglers importing and exporting contraband goods through the Nigerian borders.

The online newspaper alleged that at least seven of these officials were detained by the EFCC for days when proceeds of bribes allegedly from smugglers totalling over N12 billion were traced to them.

However, the Customs heads have yet to respond to the allegations.