The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee, responsible for investigating the sale and disposal of public property, has issued a stern final warning to the Nigerian Customs Service, insisting that they appear before the committee or face legal consequences.
Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Julius Ihonbvere, expressed his disappointment with the Nigerian Customs Service for disregarding two previous summons issued to them. He emphasized that the Ad-hoc Committee’s mandate is to scrutinize the disposal of public property from 2010 to 2022, as well as to uncover any illegal auctioning of public assets and the failure to remit revenue generated to the Consolidated Revenue of the Federation.
Hon. Ihonbvere expressed his dissatisfaction with the Nigerian Customs Service for causing the committee to expend its limited resources on publishing summonses in newspapers, only to receive an apology from the Service citing their inability to appear due to ongoing operations outside Abuja.
Furthermore, he pointed out that the arrogance of power and indiscipline within the public system can have adverse consequences and should be addressed.
The Ad-hoc Committee also convened with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) but found their presentation lacking. They requested the NPA to return the following week on Monday, bringing along the necessary documents. These documents include a list of properties slated for auction, evaluation reports, the names of registered valuers involved, along with their reports, government approvals (including those from the Office of BPP and the Federal Executive Council), evidence of remittances to the consolidated revenue fund, details of bidding procedures, publications, selections, and any other relevant documents to aid the committee in its investigation.
