From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions has summoned the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi, over the failure of some officers to exit the service after their due retirement dates.
The committee, according to a statement by its head of media, Chooks Oko, issued the summons based on a petition to the parliament by Obasi-Pherson Help Foundation, alleging that some Customs officers have refused to proceed on retirement after reaching the due retirement age.
The statement quoted the committee chairman, Mike Etaba, as saying, “Nigerians deserve to know the truth of the matter, and it is only the CG that can clarify the situation. We are elected to serve the people, and ensuring that all government agencies function effectively is part of that service.
“In this era when most of our youths are looking for jobs, it will be wrong for the older ones who are due for retirement to refuse to go.
“That is not to say we shall take sides, far from it. We treat each case on merit, ensuring that justice is given at all times to the deserving.”
Similarly, the committee has threatened to order the arrest of the Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Abisoye Coker-Odusote, if she fails to appear before it in person to respond to a petition on an alleged breach of a licence agreement by the agency.
According to Etaba, “If she fails to show up at the next hearing of this case, we’ll have no option but to ask the Inspector General of Police to bring her. How can an official of government treat constituted authority with such levity? We can no longer condone such an attitude.”