The House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions has summoned the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi, to appear before it next Tuesday over allegations that some top officials of the service have refused to retire despite reaching their due retirement dates.
The summons follows a petition by the Obasi-Pherson Help Foundation, which accused several high-ranking Customs officers, including Assistant Comptrollers Imam, Umar, and Egwu, as well as Comptrollers Awe, Fatia, and Faith, of remaining in service illegally.
Chairman of the Committee, Mike Etaba, emphasized the need for transparency, stating that Nigerians deserve to know the true situation. He warned that in a time when youth unemployment remains a major challenge, it would be unfair for senior officials to refuse to leave their positions after retirement.
“This is not about taking sides. We will handle each case on its merit and ensure justice prevails,” Etaba said.
In a related development, the committee has threatened to order the arrest of the Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) if she fails to appear in person to respond to allegations of breaching a license agreement with Truid Limited, a private software development firm.
Truid Limited alleges that it funded, developed, and deployed a tokenization system for NIMC under an agreement that allowed the company to recover its investment through service provider patronage. However, the firm claims the new NIMC DG is attempting to terminate the agreement.
Despite multiple invitations, the NIMC DG has failed to appear before the committee. Chairman Etaba warned that if she continues to ignore the summons, the committee would direct the Inspector General of Police to ensure her appearance.
“How can a government official treat a constituted authority with such disregard? We will not tolerate this attitude any longer,” he stated.
