The Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Alhaji Abdullahi Dikko Inde (CFR) has denied that he met with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar at an undisclosed hotel in Lagos last week, as was reported in some newspapers and other media of mass communication (LEADERSHIP not included).
In a statement issued and signed by the media aide to the Customs CG, Mr Joseph Chidi, the Customs boss said it was important to put the fact straight, and declared that he never met with the former VP, but was in Lagos on ‘a working visit’ to assess the readiness of the NCS to take over the destination inspection (DI) from concessionaires by December this year.
Due to the importance of the DI service “the CG has to personally supervise the sensitisation seminar for stakeholders on the newly launched Nigeria Trade Hub portal and the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) and how the package can enhance Customs operations and facilitate trade better than the Risk Assessment Report (RAR),” the statement said.
The statement further stated that whatever was reported in the media about the CG meeting with the former VP was just a figment of the writer’s imagination, adding that the Customs boss wished to inform the general public to ignore the malicious report “seeking to cast a slur on his person and his reforms in the NCS”.
Source: Leadership
