The Senate at its plenary session of Tuesday, March 7th, 2017, passed a resolution directing the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) to halt its plans to impound vehicles whose customs duties have not been paid. Leading the debate on the motion, Deputy Senate Leader, Sen. Bala Ibn Na’Allah (APC: Kebbi) condemned the move of the NCS, stating that it would further impose untold hardship on Nigerians.
Elaborating on the motion, Sen. Na’Allah noted with dismay that such a directive approved by the Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hammed Ibrahim Ali (rtd) does not reflect the needs of citizens especially on matters of public importance. Speaking in support of the motion, Sen. Dino Melaye (APC: Kogi) expressed concern over such a directive stating that it would lead to corruption among officials of the customs service. He mentioned that it was impossible to import vehicles into the country without due clearance from the Customs Service.
Following the debate on the motion, the Senate further resolved that the leadership of Nigerian Customs Service appear before its Committee on Customs to further clarify the rationale behind the policy. Prior to the Senate’s resolution, Col. Ali had endorsed a time frame commencing March 13th to April 20th 2017 for payment of duties to all vehicle owners who had failed to do so.
