By Bashir Mohammed
Kano
Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Col. Hammeed Ali (retd), has said that he was not a sitting Comptroller-General who would be sitting at the comfort of his office churning out directives and that he would remain on prowl to discharge his assigned responsibility.
Speaking at a meeting with stakeholders in Kano yesterday, Ali said he was also ready to open his doors for easy communication for reasonable grievances to be accommodated adding that one is at a liberty to forward his grouse either in writing or verbal presentation.
He stressed that the Customs Service would not be force to exceed the confines of laws and legitimate authority in acceding to the yearnings and aspirations of those in the business of production and bringing goods into the country.
Ali said it was fool-hardy for one to believe that Customs would simply act beyond the confines of law to accord one undue favour at the expense of national interest.
He said for an effective Customs Service to be firmly entrenched and reach fruition, the stake-holders and all licensed customs agents must understand the clear direction of the federal government set objectives, pointing out that the synergy he developed was a pointer to the importance the present administration attached to how businesses should be conducted.
He said: “All the relevant laws governing the conduct of businesses are clear. We cannot simply give room for primordial considerations to becloud our sense of responsibility and are ever ready to avoid crossing the lines of laws and legitimacy.
“It is high time we should all strive to ensure that we contribute our quota to the development of the nation’s economy at this material point in time. We should all be guided in our dealings and conduct.”
He commended the press for being part and parcel of the struggle to sensitise people on the laudable intention of the federal government, stressing that with effective collaboration with the media the Nigeria Customs Service was poised to move forward.
