Reps Invite Customs Boss, Berate BPE Over Procurement Act Violation
The House of Representatives yesterday summoned the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Service, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd) This is just as the committee accused the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) of violating the Public Procurement Act in the process of selecting insurance companies and brokerage firms between 2013 and 2015.
The committee also accused the agency of deliberately submitting incomplete information to its secretariat.
Ali is expected to appear before an ad-hoc Committee of the House, investigating the return on premium by November 21.
Chairman of the committee, Hon. Adekunle Akinlade who gave the order expressed displeasure over Ali’s refusal to appear before the committee for the second time after invitation.
Ali in a letter transmitted to the committee through the Deputy Comptroller General of Customs(DCG) in charge of Human Resource Development, Mr. Austin Warikoru, said he was attending a summit for Customs organisations across Africa holding in Harare, Zimbabwe, hence his inability to honour the committee’s invitation.
The committee had at its last sitting insisted that the Customs CG must appear before it in person to explain perceived infractions in its transactions with insurance companies between 2013 to 2015.
