…No, auction transport…Customs
From Uche Usim and Nsisong Morgan, Abuja
The President, National Auctioneers Association (NAA) Alhaji Aliyu Kiliya, at the weekend, disclosed that the Federal Government has lost at least N100 billion in the ongoing e-auction sales due to the non-inclusion of professionals auctioneers in the programme.
This was as the Customs Comptroller-General, Hameed Ali described the claim as total falsehood, stressing all the establishment did on e-auction was hinged on transparency and fairness to all interested Nigerians, while ensuring the government realizes the best of revenue accruable from the programme.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja, the NAA boss, Aliyu Kiliya said his association boasts of professional valuers and auctioneers who will give the government the best value for the seized goods and overtime cargoes the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) was currently disposing via the e-auctions.
According to him, the Comptroller-General of NCS, Hameed Ali was wrong to have prevented his association from discharging its lawful duties by being involved in the auction programme.
He said: “We are not against the disposal of items online. The auctioneers are very willing, ready and able to actively participate in the disposal of items online. But the Customs CG has taken a unilateral decision hiding under a particular clause in the law which gives him the empowerment to act.
“We are also picking from the same law which says that the Comptroller General, after doing the enumeration and classification, these items should disposed via an agent that would work with the general public and government agency, which in this case, it is Customs. But in this cas now, he has taken a unilateral decision to go on with the exercise online by himself”, he said.
While calling on the government to look into the matter, the NAA boss noted that Customs also neglected some rules regarding the disposal of some categories of goods.
“The way and manner that the public properties are disposed is far from the rules and regulations. We know quite alright that in disposing government properties, there must be rules and procedures.”
There are items that cannot be sold online because they are perishable items. Each item has a life span and those things have to be considered. There are some food and beverages that cannot be sold by online. We are not against selling by online, but we are advising the CGC that he should seek the services of auctioneers”, he said.
Meanwhile, the Comptroller-General of Customs, Hameed Ali, while flagging off the e-auction sales last week, said the Service prepared the platform with inputs from relevant stakeholders.
He said the Service also has valuation officers who work within internationally accepted templates on valuing all categories of cargoes meant for auctioning.
He added that the establishment derived it’s powers to auction from the constitution.
“What we are doing is in line with Section 167 (2) CAP C45 and Section 2 (1) and (2) CAP C46 of the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA), which gives the Service the powers to dispose seized and overtime cargo after they must undergone judicial process.
“We are therefore discharging our duties in an open, transparent and accountable manner in line with government’s stance on transparency”, he stated.