Did President Muhammadu Buhari make a procedural
mistake in appointing Hameed Ali, a retired colonel, as the
comptroller-general (CG) of Nigeria Customs Service?
According to section 3.11:1 of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria Official Gazette No 24 Vol. 89 of 25th March 2002,
the choice of the comptroller-general of customs shall be by
“appointment of a suitable Deputy Comptroller-General of
Customs (General Duty)”.
This guideline is on page 226 of the gazette — which is an
administrative publication of established procedures, orders
and regulations.
A strict interpretation of the gazette would suggest that Ali
was not qualified for the CG position since he was neither a
customs officer nor a deputy comptroller-general.
But TheCable understands that in his desire to clean up
customs, considered to be one of the most corrupt
government agencies, Buhari could not find an insider to
trust and decided to bring in Ali, who is known for his
modesty and integrity.
When Abdullahi Diko Inde recently retired as the CG, one of
his six deputies was expected to be appointed as his
replacement.
“Security reports on the current deputy comptroller-generals
were not favourable in any sense,” an associate of the
president told TheCable on Monday.
“It became very clear to the president that he needed an
outsider to thoroughly clean up the mess. Nigerians do not
have any trust in the customs service, and this is one of the
biggest revenue-collecting agencies for the federation.”

THE PRECEDENTS

Before arriving at the choice of Ali, Buhari had sought legal
advice from insiders in his government, and he was given
examples of how non-career customs officers headed the
service in the past.
Shehu Musa, a career civil servant, was appointed director
of the department of customs and excise in 1975 to reform
the structure inherited from the colonial government. Musa
later served as the secretary to the federal government in
the second republic.
Haliru Bello Mohammed, a veterinary doctor, was in the
ministry of internal affairs when he was seconded to
customs as a director in 1989 by the government of Ibrahim
Babangida. At the time, customs, immigrations and prisons
were one unit under the internal affairs ministry.
In 1990, after the three services were unbundled,
Mohammed was appointed the first CG of customs. He later
became minister and acting chairman of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) in the fourth republic.
In 1993, a serving soldier, Samuel Ango, then a brigadier-
general, was appointed sole administrator of the service by
the Sani Abacha administration.
Ango held the position until February 1999 when the
Abdulsalami Abubakar government appointed Aliyu Ahmed
Mustapha as the comptroller-general.
However, these instances were long before President
Olusegun Obasanjo issued the administrative order in 2002
which was gazetted, thereby giving it a procedural authority.

LEGAL LOOPHOLE?

The confusion appears to have been created by the Customs
and Excise Management Act (CEMA) which does not say
anything on the appointment of the CG. It only specifies
appointments into the board.
Femi Falana, constitutional lawyer and a senior advocate of
Nigeria (SAN), told TheCable that the gazette does not have
the force of law and section 5 of the 1999 constitution
empowers the president to make the appointment from
outside the service.
“For statutory bodies that the law does not clearly define
how appointments are made, the president is fully protected
by the 1999 constitution on how he can make the
appointments,” he said.
According to him, the gazette in question is “a scheme of
service” which regulates the internal procedures of
promotion within the customs structure.
“What that gazette is saying in effect is that you cannot pick
any customs officer below the rank of deputy comptroller-
general as the CG. It is an internal procedure. Ali was picked
from the outside so the rule does not apply to him. The
president is protected by section 5(1)(a) of the constitution
which allows him to appoint anybody to help him exercise
his executive powers,” he said.
The section says: “Subject to the provisions of this
Constitution, the executive powers of the Federation shall be
vested in the President and may subject as aforesaid and to
the provisions of any law made by the National Assembly,
be exercised by him either directly or through the Vice-
President and Ministers of the Government of the Federation
or officers in the public service of the Federation.”
“By his appointment, Ali is now an officer of the public
service of the federation overseeing the customs service on
behalf of the president. No law has been broken,” Falana
said.

SOLE ADMINISTRATOR?

However, a retired senior civil servant, who declined being
named, told TheCable that Buhari should have appointed Ali
the sole administrator of customs and not comptroller-
general because he is not a career customs office.
“He can appoint Ali into the board and then make him sole
administrator since he has a specific duty of cleaning up the
place. The comptroller-general is a career position that is
done from within the service. In the case of Haliru
Mohammed, he was already a director of the service. It was
from there he was made CG by Babangida in 1990,” he
explained.
“Even under the military, they did not call an outsider
comptroller-general. Ango was called sole administrator
because he was a military man not a career customs man.
When Mamman Kotangora was appointed to head ABU
Zaria, he was not called vice chancellor. He was called sole
administrator. You cannot appoint a VC from outside the
university system.”
He also said having attained the age of 60, Ali could not be
named comptroller-general as this is unknown to all the
rules related to the administration of customs.
“You retire from service when you have either served for 35
years or you are 60 years old, depending on which comes
first. Ali is already 60 and cannot be called CG, but he can
be sole administrator and he can still carry out the reforms.
As a sole administrator, that is a political appointment not
restricted by age,” he said.
However, Falana does not support this position.
“We are no longer under military rule, so the issue of naming
Ali as the sole administrator does not arise. This is
a political appointment, and that means the retirement age
does not apply to him,” he said.
Femi Adesina, presidential spokesman, told TheCable that
no law has been broken.


https://www.thecable.ng/fg-gazette-raises-questions-alis-appointment-customs-comptroller-general


lalasticlala

He who does not know and wishes to know is wise. Teach him.


He who does not know and does not know that he does not know and does not wish to know is absolutely foolish and can never know.


From the above assertions. Just choose where u think ur president falls in.
I won't say further before they declare me missing while traveling from my bathroom to my bedroom!

I took time to read it all ..

..For me, making him a "sole administrator" will be the best bet ..

..We can always find alternative name to give the title to quash Falana's arguement.

..Support Career growth!

Who read it all?

Those reason long like encyclopedia

Editor1:
He who does not know and wishes to know is wise. Teach him.


He who does not know and does not know that he does not know and does not wish to know is absolutely foolish and can never know.


From the above assertions. Just choose where u think ur president falls in.
I won't say further before they declare me wanted while traveling from my bathroom to my bedroom!

What do you mean

..Should I delete my comment

OP change your topic from Illegal to Legal. Reading through what you posted means the appointed is completely Legal. Why put Illegal in your topic just to create interest or traffic? The constitution is superior to internal gazette.