The Senate at its plenary session of Tuesday, March 14th 2017, reaffirmed that the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hamid Ali should appear before the Chambers in his official uniform as contained in its resolution of Thursday, 10th March 2017. This came after the chambers rejected his letter requesting that the Senate adjusts his scheduled appearance date of Wednesday, March 15th 2017.
In a letter written by the Assistant Comptroller General and read on the floor of the Chamber by the Clerk of the Senate, Mr. Nelson Oyewo, Col. Ali explained that the date scheduled by the Senate for him to appear before them to give a brief on duty payment on vehicles in Nigeria coincided with the fortnightly Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) Management Meeting, and as a result, he could not honor the invitation of the Senate to appear before them on the said March 15th.
The Senate expressed dismay over the fact that the letter was written and signed by his Assistant, a situation which the Senate considered disrespectful. Responding to the letter, Sen. James Manager (PDP: Delta) in his submission urged lawmakers to “ be careful about how government officials respond to our resolution” and insisted that Col. Ali appear in his official uniform and on the date earlier resolved.
The Senate President, Sen. Bukola Saraki (APC: Kwara) also spoke in support of Sen. Manager’s view stressing that the resolution of the Senate must be upheld, adding that the meeting of the NCS Management could not override the decision of the Senate.
