Uche Usim, Abuja
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) said it has realized N151 million as at August 25, from the auctioning 187 vehicles seized from smugglers via its electronic auction platform reopened recently.
Spokesman of Customs, Joseph Attah who made the disclosure in a statement said the revelation became necessary following complaints from bidders who queried the integrity of the bid process.
He said: “Since the reopening of the Nigeria Customs Service e-auction platform, some complaints and inquiries have been pouring in, especially from those who tried unsuccessfully due to either invalid Tax Identification Number (TIN), inability to service e-wallet, poor network at their locations or any other reason which are all outside the jurisdiction of the service.
“Some of these complaints appeared to have questioned the integrity of the e-auction process. For the avoidance of doubts the following is the update so far:
“Summary of e-auction as at 25th August, 2020: Number of windows, 3; total number of items auctioned, 314; total number paid for as at 25th August, 187; total reserved bid amount N87.9 million and total bid amount paid, N151 million”, he explained.