The Nigerian Customs Service has unveiled an electronic auction platform through which cargoes that have been forfeited to the Federal Government could be sold to Nigerians via a transparent bidding process.
The e-auctioning exercise was performed at the headquarters of the NCS by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd) on Monday.
Present at the event were members of the e-auction committee, which comprises representatives from the Central Bank of Nigeria, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control among others.
Speaking at the exercise, Ali described the launching of the platform as a game-changer for the service as it would bring about a regime of transparency and consistency in the disposal of seized vehicles to Nigerians.
According to the Customs boss, the realisation of the abuse in the manual auctioning system that made him suspend it when he assumed office last year.
He said, “The launching of the e-auction platform today marks a complete departure from the manual process of the past that was opened to abuses.
“In the past, stakeholders had accused the Service of nepotism, short-changing the government of revenue through arbitrary auction fees to be paid by allottees and sundry corruption allegations against the Service.
“Consequently, since my assumption of duty as the CGC, suspension order was placed on the manual auction to give way to development of an electronic platform that will be secured, transparent, capable of increasing revenue as well as providing equal opportunities for all Nigerians who are interested in the process.
“It’s been a long walk to an era of a system that will ensure transparency and accountability in such a way that leaves nobody in doubt that NCS has the capacity to discharge its responsibilities with utmost sincerity.”
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