Customs boss humiliates Sen Dino Melaye, other visiting senators
*Lectures Them On Work Etiquette
The stand-off between the Senate and the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Col Hammed Ali (rtd), took a new dimension on Monday as the Custom boss, took the senators to the cleaners, lecturing them on how to imbibe a correct work etiquette and human relations.
The incident occurred at the Headquarters of the Nigerian Customs in Abuja during a visit by the Senate Ad hoc Committee on Economic Waste, headed by Senator Dino Melaye.
Melaye had earlier provoked a foul reaction from the Customs boss when he expressed dismay that the Comptroller General failed to come down from his office to welcome members of his Committee on visitation to the premises, while preferring to meet them at the Conference Room.
Senator Melaye before reading his prepared speech, told the Custom boss that protocol had long been established with statutory bodies like Customs, Immigration, Prisons and others, over the years and wondered why such etiquette was not accorded the committee.
He said, “Before reading the prepared speech of the committee, let me make this small remarks on what we have just observed here in form of breach of protocols.
“Mr CG, rather than meeting us here at the conference room by way of courtesy, you supposed to have met us at the ground floor on arrival into the premises.
“That has been the practice of statutory bodies headed by Chief Executive Officers like you. Relevant senate committees have over the years been accorded this by bosses of Immigration Service, Prison Service etc, making us to wonder why it is not so here today under your leadership.
“Therefore, before proceeding further, on account of this observation, we want the Customs management to know that the presence of this committee before it implies that the Senate itself is before it to put things in order as regards the economic waste taking place in the Customs Service requiring the seriousness it deserves from you and the entire management” .
Melaye, in his characteristic manner, bellowed at the Customs top management officers, declaring that the committee’s meeting with them was more or less that of the Senate, while he banged the the gavel on the table in demonstration of his readiness for commencement of the meeting.
But the Customs boss in his response, took time to tongue lash the Senators and literally stated that Melaye overstepped his boundary by raising the issue of etiquette and official superiority during their meeting with him.
Choosing his words, Col Ali charged back at Melaye, saying that, “We have our own protocol as regards receiving visitors like you. I don’t need to come downstairs to receive you just as nobody in the Senate or House of Representatives has ever come out to receive us anytime we visit the National Assembly.
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“So, there is no breach of protocol for not coming down to welcome you since appropriate officers have been assigned to do so . Our protocol is our protocol and should be allowed to be.
“In fact, by way of etiquette, it is the committee that supposed to come to my office first on arrival and not just coming straight to the conference room.
“Let me state clearly that we in the Nigeria Customs Service are servants of the people. We believe in Nigeria and working with others to make it great without being railroaded in anyway .
“Personally, I took this job because of my commitment to serve this country selflessly, having earlier done so in the Military. So, nobody can tell me that am not a committed Nigeria.
“On your assignment you called economic waste, we shall cooperate with you to unearth whatever you want to unearth and effect any correction if there is any?”, he thundered.
The real drama on superiority between the Senate and Nigerian Customs started after the event, when the Protocol department of the Customs swung into action and kept the Senator waiting for the exit of the Comptroller General out of the premises.
The Senators’ egos got deflated when the Customs CG with anger on his face walked out from the visitors and in the process blocking them from leaving the place before him .
It was after the Customs CG left the Customs Headquarters at about 2:15pm with his siren blaring convoy that the humbled members of the Senate committee left at about 2:20pm, apparently held up in their bus for about 15minutes by the Customs CG Convoy stationed at the exit gate.
Senators who suffered part of the embarrassing moment at the Customs headquarters include, Sam Anyanwu (PDP, Imo East), Gilbert Nnaji (PDP, Enugu East), Hamman Isah Misau (APC, Bauchi Central) and Babajide Omoworare (APC, Osun East).
