SHAKE UP IN NIGERIA CUSTOMS SERVICE

CG Customs, Alh. Abdullahi Inde Dokko. and 
Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

• Three DCGs Resign Due To Age
• Lobby For DCGs , ACGs Posts Hot Up

A major shake-up has hit the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). Three of the remaining four Deputy Comptrollers General have voluntarily resigned, after a board meeting which was presided over by the Minister of Finance; Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala.
Those who retired on Monday were: Dr. Jatau, M. D, who was in charge of Modernization, Research & Economic Relations, Alhaji Saka Yinusa, who was in charge of Enforcement, Investigation and Inspection and Garba Makarfi, who was in charge of Human Resource Development. The fourth DCG; Mr Julius Nwagwu had retired last year after attaining the statutory age of 60 years.
Shipping Position Daily confirmed yesterday that only one DCG; Mr John Atteh is left, and that new appointments into the DCG cadres are being expected any moment from now.
Our correspondent also confirmed that the trio of Maikarfi, Saka and Jattau were actually due to retire in March and were already scheduled to proceed on pre retirement leave in January.
There were unconfirmed reports yesterday that five Assistant Comptrollers General are already in the race for consideration as DCGs. They are: Messrs Adewuyi, Nwosu, Tahir, Aliu GT and Mera.
Similarly, the movement of ACGs will necessitate elevation of some Comptrollers to the rank of ACGs.
Already, some names are being touted as prominent on the list. However, a senior customs officer told our correspondent yesterday that the Comptroller General of the service; Alhaji Dikko Abdulahi Inde is still ‘consulting’.
The new ACGs will be appointed from the six geopolitical zones, just as the new DCGs who are yet to be confirmed are from the six zones.
But, the national public relations officer of the Service; Mr Wale Adeniyi told Shipping Position Daily there are no details of the development yet. He however confirmed that the board met and that it was at the meeting that the trio of Saka, Maikarfi and Jattau announced their disengagement.
 “We are still waiting for details of who is going where, that is why I have even not issued a press release on it”, he said yesterday.  
Shipping Position Daily had fingered the Nigeria Customs Service as one of the places to watch in 2014.
In its yearly ‘prediction’ of likely events and issues that will hold the industry, we had written in our Monday edition, foretelling a likely shakeup in the service. “However ambitious senior officers from the rank of ACG have been oiling their lobby machineries to unseat Dikko.  To outwit them, some have been transferred to ‘irrelevant’ positions and zones, while others have also been put on close watch”.
 http://shippingposition.com.ng/article/shake-nigeria-customs-service