By Baron Ike
The Senate on Wednesday, March 22 declared that the Nigeria Customs Service boss retired Col. Hameed Ali is unfit to hold public office. The senate was indirectly demanding for his resignation as Customs boss.
The senate reached that position and resolved that Ali should resign his post after the Customs CG refused to appear before them as directed on Thursday, March 16.
The Senate said Ali was not just coming to brief them per se, but that he needed to brief Nigerians on his controversial Customs policy.
Some of the Senators who spoke on his absence based on the letter Ali said the Attorney General of the Federation AbubakarMalami wrote to the Upper House through the clerk of the Senate amounted to interference in its duties.
Leading the debate as usual, Senator Dino Melayerepresenting Kogi West said Malami’s letter was an affront to the legislature.
He said: “What we heard from the attorney general is an insult.
“How can the attorney-general that we screened in the House tell us how to carry out our duties? This is the first time in the history of black Africa that the attorney-general is telling the Senate what to do.
“This is not an injunction but a mere court process by a third party that ran to court and the attorney-general wants us to stop our work.
“Our rule says that a matter which is already in court cannot be discussed here but not that a matter that is on our floor and an individual quickly ran to court … haba!”
Melayefurther added another angle to the controversy, saying that based on the provisions of the Customs Act and the Pension Reforms Act 2004, Ali was too old to hold a public office because he was above 60 years and had worked in public service for over 35 years.
On Tuesday, March 21, Ali ran to the court to seek its leave not to wear Customs uniform as he meets with the Senate on Wednesday, March 22 on appointment. He also wanted to rely on the court not to meet with the senate on the Wednesday, March 22 appointment.
Ali filed a law suit filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja, Tuesday, March 21.
The writ of Summons in the Suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/207/2017, filed before the court by a lawyer, Mohammed Ibrahim, has asked that the status quo (failure to wear Customs uniform) be maintained, pending the determination of the matter before it.
The plaintiff is contending, among others, that it was not within the powers of the Senate to dictate to Ali, who was appointed by President MuhammaduBuhari pursuant to his powers under sections 5 and 171 of the Constitution, how to conduct himself.
Ali was in the senate on Thursday, March 16 but without his official uniform and had to be asked out by the Upper Legislative Chambers for ignoring its directives on appropriate dressing.
The Senate had declined to accept Ali in plenary over his failure to wear the service Uniform as directed.
When prodded on why he turned down the order on service uniform, the Customs CG who dressed in white caftan told the senators that there is no place in the constitution that mandated the Customs chief to wear uniform while discharging his responsibilities.
However, Ali said he will not wear uniform as he was only appointed to work and reform the Nigeria Customs Service. Ali also said he cannot be mandated to wear customs’ ‘Khaki’ as a retired senior officer of the Nigerian army.
Unfortunately that claim was demystified by a former custom boss Bello Haliru.
Haliru in a recent interview said that wearing uniform as a comptroller general is part of the service’s regulation.
That was the response the senate needed to hear from Ali before the infuriated senators resolved that he should come next week Wednesday, March 22 fully dressed in service uniform before they could attend to him.
On Wednesday, March 15 the Senate agreed to issue a warrant for the arrest Ali to compel him to appear before it on Thursday, March 16.
The Senate’s decision was sequel to Ali’s failure to appear before the Red Chamber that day as directed.
Senate President, BukolaSaraki had read out a letter from Ali explaining why he was not to come on Wednesday, but rather the next day because he was bereaved.
There were protest on Wednesday afternoon in the streets of Anambra State over Ali’s action, causing the protesters to demand his sack immediately.
ARMADANEWS had reported recently that Ali and the Senate were heading for a collision course over Tuesday, March 7 directive to the Customs Chief by the Upper House to shave the idea of planning to seize vehicles of Nigerians over unpaid duty.
The senate had directed Customs to suspend the action, but the NCS went ahead to offer 60 percent rebate on the duty to be paid at a news conference the next day which the upper legislative chambers see as an affront.
Consequently, the senate on Thursday, March 9 summoned Ali, over the plan to seize vehicles without paid duty based on a motion raised by Dino Melaye representing Kogi West. The senate wants him to appear in Customs uniform.
In a voice vote, it was resolved that Ali should appear on Wednesday, March 15.
“The senate will take a resolution and an agency of government will have the temerity, will have the guts, the strength to blatantly disregard the Nigerian senate. It is a very dark day for democracy,” said Melaye.
Melaye continued in his motion: “I’m a member of the Customs Committee. I want to educate some of us, the position of CGC has a rank…. When he appeared before the committee, I asked why he does not wear uniform, and he said uniformed men don’t wear uniform twice.
“I reminded him that he retired as a Colonel and that a General and was appointed as the Corps Marshal of the FRSC, and he proudly wore the uniform of FRSC.
“We need to check this properly, we are taking a decision on behalf of the people, and an agency decides to disrespect the Nigerian senate? If they are taking duty on Nigerian roads, and the President is passing, no Customs officer will stop him and ask for papers, they will rather salute him.
“The Senate has resolved that we invite the CGC to appear in plenary with his uniform to either justify or falsify this statement.”
Although the Customs had suspended the exercise completely, there are other policy issues associated with Ali which the senate is interested in seeking clarification as representatives of the Nigerian people.
Melate said: “Hameed Ali is above 60. He is not qualified to hold the position of the Customs comptroller general.”
He therefore moved that Ali be declared unfit and told to resign, a motion whichSenator EyinnayaAbaribefrom Abiaconcurred.
He argued that “Lest we forget”, the Customs made an obnoxious policy and it was in this process that the Senate invited Ali to explain his policy and not because of any vendetta.
Speaking, Senator IsahMisau representing Bauchi Central argued further that enemies of Nigeria’s progress were working against the President MuhammaduBuhari-led government by giving him bad pieces of advice.
Misau said:”The enemies of Nigeria are in the presidency. They are trying to distract the president from doing his job. They are giving him the wrong advices and throwing obstacles in his way in order to disrupt his administration.
“For instance when the President went on vacation for about 49 days, there were no Boko Haram attacks but immediately he returned, they have started the attacks again to distract the President.”
The highpoint of the day’s session was the resolve of the senate to send a warning letter to the attorney-general to desist from interfering in legislative matters.
A motion was also moved to send the Senate’s resolution to the House of Representatives for concurrence.