The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has debunked allegations of underhand dealings and fraudulent activity in its ongoing e-auction of overtime and seized goods.
National Public Relations Officer, Abdulahi Maiwada, reaffirmed NCS’ commitment to “the most outstanding levels of accountability and transparency.”
He categorically denied any involvement in fraudulent activities or underhand payments and emphasized that the NCS Auction Committee operates within the confines of the law.
The NCS described claims of fraud in the e-auction process as “entirely false” and misleading, providing data that 13,605 applicants participated in the e-auction, where 476 vehicles were uploaded, 462 won and N556.7 million generated in revenue for the government.
“We wish to categorically deny involvement in fraudulent activities or underhand dealings in the e-auctioning of vehicles or other goods. The NCS Auction Committee operates within the confines of the law and adheres strictly to established guidelines and procedures for disposing of seized/overtime goods.
“Regarding the allegation that over 300 vehicles have been auctioned to just one individual via the e-auction window after purported underhand payments, we wish to state that this is entirely false, misguided, and spurious.
“Furthermore, suggesting that a token sum of N10,000 is collected as duties to the Federal Government on the e-auction window, which has a reserved price of N400, 000 is indeed misleading and misrepresentation of fact.
“From the data generated upon completing five successful bidding windows, 13,605 applicants registered in five windows on our e-auction portal, where 476 vehicles were uploaded, and 462 won. Also, the government realized N5.6billion as revenue. It begs the question of where the allegations are coming from.
“We wish to reaffirm our commitment to transparency, accountability, and adherence to the rule of law in all our activities. We urge members of the public to join the service with the common goal of promoting an inclusive system that is fair to all Nigerians, irrespective of their status,” the customs spokesman said.