…declares Hameed Ali unfit to hold public office

The Senate, yesterday, declared the Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) unfit to hold public office in the country and, therefore, urged him to resign and vacate the office.
In its resolution, the Senate held that for refusing to honour the summons on the NCS retrospective policy on duty payment and refusal to wear Customs uniform, Ali was unfit to hold any public office.
The Senate also called on the Customs Service to cancel the proposed retrospective duty payment on vehicles in Nigeria, rather than the current suspension status of the initiative.
It also urged the Customs to, instead of imposing draconian policy on Nigerians, devise more effective and result-oriented strategies towards realising more import revenues from vehicle importers in the country, and not block the nation’s highways to harass and extort money from the citizenry.
The apex legislative chamber further condemned in very strong terms, what it described as undue interference in its constitutional proceedings by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN). It also resolved to write a strong letter to President Muhammadu Buhari on these resolutions for his information and possible guidance on what to do with his erring appointees.
The Red Chamber specifically resolved to tell President Buhari in the letter, to caution the Attorney General to desist from meddling in the affairs of the Senate and to respect the fundamental principle of separation of powers in running the affairs of government.
The Senate further resolved to transmit these resolutions to the House of Representatives for concurrence, so that they would subsequently become resolutions of the National Assembly, and not just those of the Upper chamber.
This was as some senators observed with dismay that the enemies of this government, fighting to pull it down by frustrating its developmental programmes, were those in the Presidency, calling on Nigerians to pray for President Buhari to succeed.
The Senate made these resolutions, following a comprehensive debate on the letter written to it by the AGF, advising it to stay action on its summon of the Customs CG, Ali, who was supposed to appear before the chamber yesterday in relation to his policy on payment of duty on vehicles.
The Senate had gone into executive session that lasted for one hour, 35 minutes, where it deliberated on the issue of Customs CG and the perceived encroachment of the AGF on the powers and duties of the Senate.
When the Senate reverted to plenary, it approved the votes and proceedings of the previous legislative day, in accordance with parliamentary practice; received petitions from some senators and then resolved into the Committee of the Whole, to approve President Buhari’s $500 million Eurobond request.
After that, the leader of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, delegated his deputy, Bala Ibn Na’Allah, to act on his behalf, who then called on the Senate to consider the 13th item on the Order Paper, which was the proposed briefing by the Customs boss. In spite of the fact that the Senate was already aware that Ali was not at the National Assembly to honour its summon, Na’Allah still went ahead to call on the chamber to receive the scheduled briefing.
However, Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweramadu, who presided over the session, interjected that there was no need for the Senate to waste its time to form the Committee of the Whole because the CG was not present.
He then told the chamber that the AGF sent a letter to the Senate, urging it to stay action on the summon on Ali, saying that there was a pending suit in the court on the matter.
Immediately the Clerk finished reading the letter, Senator Benjamin Uwajumogu (Imo North), challenged the position of the AGF, saying that his interference was a breach of the principle of separation of powers.
He said no arm of government has the constitutional mandate to stop another from carrying out its legitimate functions. Also contributing, Senator Dino Melaye observed that beyond the unbecoming defiant behaviour of the Customs CG to directives of the Senate, Ali, by virtue of his age, was no longer fit to occupy the office. Citing the Public Service Rule of the Federation, Melaye said that the rule book stipulated a retirement age of public servants to be 60 years, and that the Customs boss was above the retirement age, urging that he should resign his appointment.
He also described the letter of the AGF to the Senate as an insult to the institution of the National Assembly, pointing out that there was no court order or injunction restraining the Senate on Ali. He said: “What we have from the AGF is an insult on the institution of the National Assembly, especially on the Senate.
Where does he derive his power to suggest to us or direct us on how we should carry out our function? This is the first time that any AGF will have the temerity to do so. “What we have is not a court order /injunction; it is a mere process.
The integrity and the independence of legislators are on line. We have a rule, which says that a matter already in court cannot be treated here, but not a matter that we are already treating and somebody went to court.
“The CG is not even fit to be the CG of Customs. The position of the CG is a rank and anybody holding that office is a public servant. The compulsory retirement age for the service is 60 years and Hameed Ali is far above 60 and, therefore, not qualified to hold that office.” Senator Ibrahim Gobir suggested that the Senate should write President Buhari, and urge him to stop the AGF from interfering with the activities of the National Assembly.
Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, in his views, queried the integrity and competence of the Attorney General in the understanding of the laws of Nigeria of which he is the custodian, lamenting that his letter to the Senate exposed his ignorance of the law.
“I want to question the knowledge of the AGF on Nigerian law. His action shows his abysmal understanding of the law. I leave it to those who appointed him to tell us.
In Jude Agbaso versus the IMSG, the Supreme Court ruled that no arm of government can disrupt the processes of another arm of government,” he said.
He also suggested that the Senate should ignore the AGF while urging the apex chamber to declare the Customs CG totally unfit for the office, to teach him a lesson.
The Senate Deputy Minority Whip, Mrs. Biodun Olujimi, described the actions of the AGF and the Customs CG as gross impunity and arrogant display of ignorance of the law.
“This is gross impunity; there is arrogant display of the ignorance of the CG who believes that he is bigger than the law and the AGF who is ignorant of his duties.
There is a separation of power and he has refused to understand it, forgetting that he is a mere nominee. I stand by all resolutions proffered by Abaribe and I ask the government if this is the change they promised,” she said. Spokesman for the Senate, Aliyu Sabi, urged the Senate to call for the total cancellation of the vehicle duty payment policy muted by the Customs CG.
“We should call for total cancellation of the policy, rather than asking the Customs to suspend it, because suspending it means that it is still hanging in the air, and will create a system of corruption,” he said. Senator Isa Misau, in his submission, posited that the enemies of this government were people within the Presidency, alleging that the cabal was desperately sabotaging the Buhari administration to ensure that it did not succeed.
He said: “If you see what is happening, you will see that the enemies of this government are within the presidency. If you see the kind of advice people in government are giving to the President, you will know that some people do not want him to succeed.
“When the President was away for 49 days, did you hear about any attacks from the Niger Delta Avengers or herdsmen? But since he came back, these people have been causing trouble here and there and you started hearing about herdsmen attacks again.
I want to call on Nigerians to pray for Mr. President to succeed. “Since the President returned, there have been attacks everyday. Some people are intentionally causing trouble for this government.
We need to tell the President that the enemies of this government are within this government. The people surrounding the government are enemies of the President,” he said. The Senate had earlier called for the resignation of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachi Lawal over contract award.