Customs: NAGAFF lied, no individual got 300 vehicles under e-auction window
…Dismiss alleged payment of N10, 000 token as against N400, 000 reserved price for a vehicle
Paul Ogbuokiri
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has described as false, unfounded and outright misrepresentation of facts, the allegation of fraud in the e-auction window made by the NAGAFF 100% Examination Compliance Team reported by a section of the media on Friday.
The report which was mostly in the online news outlets on Friday disclosed that the allegation was contained in a letter the NAGAFF team said it wrote to the Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service. Though without any proof, the reports indicated that the team, a sub-group within the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) alleged that 300 vehicles was auctioned to a single individual and a token of N10,000 paid on each of the vehicles and that there are moves to repeat the same fraud in the auctioning of overtime containers.
However, the Nigeria Customs Service in a rebuttal today (Saturday), signed by the National Public Relations Officer (NPRO), Abdullahi Maiwada, a Chief Superintendent of Customs, say it is disheartening to note the serious allegations regarding the integrity of the ongoing e-auction process designed to provide a level playing ground for all Nigerians. It wondered where such wide unsubstantiated allegation is coming from, taking into cognizance that fact that the result of the five successful auction bidding processes are available for anybody interested to see.
The statement further reads:
“The NCS is a law-abiding government organisation dedicated to maintaining the most outstanding levels of accountability and transparency in all its activities and taking any accusations of improper behaviour seriously.
We wish to categorically deny involvement in fraudulent activities or underhand dealings in the e-auctioning of vehicles or other goods. The NCS Auction Committee operates within the confines of the law and adheres strictly to established guidelines and procedures for disposing of seized/overtime goods.
“Regarding the allegation that over 300 vehicles have been auctioned to just one individual via the e-auction window after purported underhand payments, we wish to state that this is entirely false, misguided, and spurious. Furthermore, suggesting that a token sum of N10, 000 is collected as duties to the Federal Government on the e-auction window, which has a reserved price of N400, 000 is indeed misleading and misrepresentation of fact.”
The NCS further disclosed that from the data generated upon completing five successful bidding windows, 13,605 applicants registered in five windows on our e-auction portal, where 476 vehicles were uploaded, and 462 won. It added that the government realized N556, 738,736 as revenue.
“We wish to reaffirm our commitment to transparency, accountability, and adherence to the rule of law in all our activities. We urge members of the public to join the service with the common goal of promoting an inclusive system that is fair to all Nigerians, irrespective of their status,” Maiwada said.