—As CGC Ali queries sincerity of House of Reps committee

Eyewitness reporter

Suspicion among the leading players in the execution of the E-Customs modernisation project may have stalled the final implementation of the multi-billion dollar project, three years after it was conceptualised.

It could be recalled that in  2019, the Federal government approved the engagement of a consortium of four firms to enter into a 20-year concession arrangement with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) for a Customs modernisation project and establishment of digital and paperless Customs administration.

On September 2nd, 2020, the Federal Executive Council (FEC), presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, ratified the NCS modernisation scheme estimated to cost about $3.1billion.

The presidential initiative on the NCS modernisation or “E-Customs Project” requires the establishment of a digital/paperless customs administration.

The government then approved the engagement of the consortium composed of Bionica Technologies West Africa, Bergan Security Consultants & Suppliers, Africa Finance Cooperation and Huawei to establish a project special purpose vehicle to enter into a 20-year concession arrangement with NCS and ICRC.

However, suspicion and misunderstanding among the Nigeria Customs Service, the Ministry of Finance, Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) and the concessionaires have dogged the implementation of the project.

It has also led to court cases from an aggrieved party in the project, Adani Mega System, who felt shortchanged in the process.

At the public hearing hosted by the House of Representatives Joint Committee on Customs and Excise, Banking and Currency and Finance in Abuja on Monday to resolve the logjam, the session was also marred by an exchange of altercation between the Comptroller- General of Customs, Col. Hammed Ali(rtd) who sent a representative and the committee members when the Customs lord makes a pass at the lawmakers.

In his presentation before the committee, the CGC, through his representative, the Assistant Comptroller General (ICT), Galadima Saidu, said he was curious that the House was resuscitating the issues on the project which the same committee had earlier treated and dispensed with.

Ali told the committee that the contractor; Adani Mega System Limited who was supposed to execute the project had been relieved of it.

In his submission, the CGC declared  “investigations carried out by the Service revealed that Messrs Adani Mega Systems Limited outsourced the agreement to an unauthorized third party Adani International Limited (UK) registered four months after the agreement was signed and the Company has since been dissolved ( Copy of the search result is hereby enclosed as Annex A).

“Therefore, the assertion by Adani Mega System Ltd that its international partner has a proven track record, capacity, expertise and competence to execute and operate within the project field covered by the agreement was false and misleading.

“It was upon the realization of this misrepresentation that the Committee on CISS canceled the agreement entered into with Messrs Adani Mega Systems Limited, via a letter Ref:TED/DIR/GAM/GEN/Ol/OZS dated 18th September 2017 (Capy attached as Annex ‘B).

“It is worthy of note also that the House of Representatives Joint Committee On Finance, Customs and Public Petition passed a resolution suspending the Concession Agreement on e-Customs pending the outcome of an investigative hearing.

“The hearing was conducted and the Committee Vide a second letter NAS S/9/CHR/2019/JOINT/002 dated 20th December 2019 (Copy of the letter is hereby attached as Annex C) stated that after due consideration of the process towards the award, has found no breach in the award of the contract for the e-Customs Project.

“The committee recommended that the agreement be finalised and the Consortium awarded the Contract (Copy of the House Committee’s report is attached as Annex D). It is therefore curious that the same House is raising the issue over again.”

Apparently,  the word “curious” as used by the Customs boss which was considered derogatory,  unsettled the lawmakers, as a member of the Committee, Ndukwe Nkole, asked the Customs Comptroller General to withdraw the remark and tender an apology.

“The CG of customs in his address to this parliament, especially in paragraph 4, is very derogatory to the parliament and it is very wrong for a public officer, an appointed officer to address elected representatives, that he’s curious.

“So I demand that the CG of customs must apologise to this parliament for using such a derogatory statement on the parliament.”

However, rather than apologise,  ACG Saidu, who represented the CGC,  merely emphasised the importance of the project until he was prevailed upon by lawmakers before he reluctantly said “I apologise”.

At the same hearing on the “Need to Resolve the Debacle Between Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)/Technical Committee on Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme (CISS) and Adani Mega System Ltd Hindering the Take Off of Nigeria Customs Services E-Customs Modernization Project’, which was boycotted by the CBN, one of the leading parties to the project, the ministry of Finance informed the committee of how court cases have frustrated the take-off of the exercise.

In her presentation, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning,
Zainab Ahmed who was represented by the Director of Home Finance, Stephen Okon, informed the committee that the Finance Ministry was liaising with the Office of Attorney General to ensure quick resolution of the legal drawbacks so as to implement the project.

“There is no doubt, the pending cases are impeding the commencement of the E-Customs Project.

“In order to pave way for the take-off of the project, the ministry is liaising with the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation to ensure that the arbitration is speedily concluded.

“This we believe could settle all the pending matters and allow the E-Customs project to commence without further delay”,

However, the Chairman of the committee, Leke Abejide, told the gathering about the concerns of the lawmakers over the delay in the implementation of the project which he claimed is causing Nigeria the loss of about $8.810 billion annually.

He expressed the belief that if the project is properly implemented,  it will go a long way in reducing Nigeria’s vulnerability to external debts and also strengthen its currency.

“The cost of concession implementation over a 20-year period is $3.1 billion American Dollars and the project is projected to generate about $176.2 billion American Dollars within the 20 years Concession period.

“We equally understood the SPV is to recover their investment based on negotiated and staggered recovery strong ratio from the Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme (CISS) and Nigerian Export Supervision Scheme (NESS),” he said.

However, the public hearing was adjourned to March 4, 2022, to allow Adani mega systems, the litigant and the remaining parties such as the CBN to present their own submissions to the committee.