By Emmanuel Kwada
The House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise is fuming after key government agency heads failed to show up to an investigative hearing on Monday. The hearing was meant to discuss the concession of the e-Customs project to the Trade Modernisation Project (TMP) and the role of Webb Fontaine in the e-Customs framework.
Lawmakers are upset because they had invited the Minister of Interior, the Comptroller General of Customs, and the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service, among others, but only the Minister of Interior had a valid excuse for not attending – he was reportedly abroad.
The Chief Executives of the agencies are mandated to appear before parliament, and their absence made the hearing ineffective
The committee members are not happy about the no-show, with Olumide Osoba (APC, Ogun) pointing out that only the Chief Executives of the agencies are mandated to appear before parliament, and their absence made the hearing ineffective. Awaji-Inombek Abiante (PDP, Rivers) went further, describing the absence as a disrespect to parliament and suggesting that if this continues, they might have to recommend removing the Chiefs from office.
This isn’t the first time a Customs officer has made headlines for the wrong reasons – a Senior Customs officer had slumped and died during an investigative hearing in June 2024.
The committee chair, Leke Abejide (ADC, Kogi), has announced that the session will be rescheduled, likely after the national budget’s passage, to ensure the Chief Executives are available for questioning. The investigation aims to get to the bottom of the concession of Customs operations to TMP, assess Webb Fontaine’s role, and evaluate the selection process for TMP.
