There are indications that the upper chamber of the National Assembly may consider stripping President Good luck Jonathan of the powers to grant duty exemption to certain categories of organizations.
The Senate may also withdraw the Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the power to appoint members to the board of Nigeria Customs. This is coming on the heels of findings by the Senate that the Customs this year alone lost a total of N58.7 billion to waivers granted by the Executive.
The Comptroller-General of Nigeria Customs Service, Abdullahi Dikko Inde yesterday faulted the laws the agency operates with, stressing that activities presently being carried out by the body were not provided for or codified in any law.
Dikko represented by the Deputy Comptroller of Customs in charge of Corporate Support Services, John Atteh, Dikko Inde said, “a cursory look at the current law reveals a number of deficiencies arising from the fact that many actions currently being undertaken by the NCS are not provided for or codified in any law and therefore do not have a proper legal basis.” “Many such actions are typically based on pronouncements from government, raising the questions of where the powers to enact such policies came from except as provided by the powers of the Executive President of Nigeria to enact policies. This then makes the pronouncements just policies and subject to judicial maneuvering especially if such policies contradict existing legislation.
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