President Buhari Accepted Customs Chief Resignation Letter
It is no longer news that the comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs has resigned from office and had tendered his resignation letter to Muhammadu Buhari, the President Federal Republic of Nigeria. What is however news is that the president has accepted the tendered resignation letter and has endorsed it. The former Comptroller-General of Customs, Abdullahi Dikko, had said earlier that he had a plan to leave office on the 18th of August, 2015.
In actual fact, he is billed to complete his tenure in about 2 years. The Comptroller-General has not made known to newsmen yet why he decided to leave office 2 years earlier, but there are unconfirmed reports that his decision to leave this early has some connections with the decision of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to probe some key officers in the Nigerian Customs.
The President had accepted the resignation that was submitted to him on the 14 of August, 2015 and he had signed it by his own hand. While responding to the resignation letter, the president thanked the former customs boss for his great works in the Nigerian Customs while he was holding sway, adding that the nation will not forget the good works he had done in a long time to come. The copy of the approval letter signed by the president was made known to newsmen.
“Dear, Alhaji D.I. Abdullahi. I write to acknowledge the receipt of your letter Ref. No. NCS/ADM/HQ/P. 35802 of 3rd August, 2015 conveying your decision to voluntarily retire from the Nigerian Customs Services with effect from Tuesday, 18th August, 2015.
“I note with appreciation your services to the nation, especially as the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Customs Services, in the last six (6) years.
“Accordingly, I hereby approved your voluntary retirement from the Nigerian Customs Service with effect from 18th August 2015.
“I wish you the best in your future endeavors.
“Yours sincerely, Muhammadu Buhari.”
Since the retirement news hit the headlines, the president had not named another person to take up the office of the Comptroller-General. According to reports reaching newsmen, the big stick of anti-corruption crusade being wielded by the present administration is set to hit the Nigerian Customs Services in the nearest future.
There had been several reports of corruption in the Nigerian Customs, but no administration till date had ever looked in that direction. There had been accusations of customs officials diverting funds and robbing importers of their valuables. There had also been reports of the custom men colluding with gullible importers to bring into the country poor standard products of all sorts.
Hopes are high that the decay in that sector of the Nigerian State would be taken care of by the time the president takes his anti-corruption crusade to the Nigerian Customs Services. It is expected that the next person to take over from Alhaji Dikko would be the next senior officer in the Nigerian Customs Services. However, the president had kept mute on this very fact and had left lots of people guessing.
By Anthony Olawale Ojo
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