The House of Representatives plans to amend the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) 2023 to allow for the appointment of a Comptroller General of Customs for a four-year tenure, according to Leke Abejide, Chairman of the House Committee on Customs and Excise.
Abejide, who spoke at the headquarters of Zone A, Federal Operations Unit of the Nigerian Customs Service, noted that the current act, which provides for the appointment of a career officer to head the service, does not permit a four-year tenure for the Comptroller General.
He explained that the provision, initially included in the current act, was removed by the Legal Department of the service because it would conflict with civil service rules.
He stated, “We wanted to have a provision in the current act to enable a four-year tenure for the CGC, but the legal department removed it, claiming it would not be viable. However, it works in the police.
“If you appoint a CGC, he will need time to implement his programs and oversee a system reform. If he only spends one or two years before leaving, possibly due to retirement, what impact can he truly make?
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Therefore, we will work on amending the act to reinstate that provision. We will collaborate with the management of the service on this.”
Abejide also informed the officers of the command that work on the zonal headquarters is in progress and will be completed within 18 months, providing them with adequate space to operate.
He clarified that the committee does not aim to extend the tenure of the Comptroller General, but rather to ensure that anyone appointed by the President to that position will serve a four-year term.
Kola Oladeji, Comptroller of the Federal Operations Unit, informed members that the unit, as an enforcement branch of the service, seized approximately 4,000 bags of foreign rice worth about N294 million in a single operation, while foiling the attempted exportation of 6,160 pieces of donkey skin, loaded in a 1×40 ft container with a street value of N6.709 billion and N5.420 billion, respectively.
Additionally, he stated that the command seized about 3,643 kg of cannabis sativa and Canadian loud at various locations within the command, worth N1.720 billion, which has been submitted to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.
He explained that in the first quarter of 2025, the command made 307 seizures with a street value of N9.921 billion while generating N121.797 million in revenue during that period.
At the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Command, Area Comptroller Harrison Effiong reported that the command generated around N16.920 billion in the first three months of the year.
He also noted that the command seized 142 parcels of cannabis worth over N290 million, which have been handed over to the NDLEA, along with $648,000 and €182,760, which have been transferred to the EFCC.