The House of Representatives has urge the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun to urgently constitute the governing board for the Nigeria Customs Service.
The House also resolved to forward it’s resolution to the Senate for concurrence, as it mandated it’s committee on Customs and Excise to ensure implementation and report back to the House in four week for further legislative actions.
The member representing Obio/Akpor federal constituency of Rivers state, Hon. Kingsley Chinda, in a motion noted that the continued failure by the Minister of Finance to constitute the Board of the Nigerian Customs Service adversely affect the functioning of the service.
According to him, he Nigeria Customs Service Board (NCSB) was established under S. 1(2) of the Nigerian Customs Service Board Act, Cap. NI00, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and placed under the control of the Federal Ministry of Finance.
Chinda stated further that the absence of the NCSB is a contravention of the provisions of the Act and is thereby affecting the effective functioning of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
He added that unless the anomaly in the non-composition of the NCSB is urgently addressed, the whole essence of the Act would be defeated.
According to the motion, the powers being exercised by the Customs, Immigration and Prisons Service Board to appoint, promote and exercise disciplinary control over staff of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) are vested in the Board under S. 4 of the NCSB Act. S.2( 1 )(a)-(j) of the said Act provides for the composition or membership of the Board while S.3(a) and (b)(i) and (ii) provides for the functions of the Board as “formulating the general policy guidelines for the Nigeria Customs Service; administering the Customs and Excise Management Act, and accordingly, the Board shall: subject to the general control of the Minister, control and manage the administration of the customs and excise laws, and collect the revenues of customs and excise and account for them in such manner as the Minister shall, from time to time, directly.”
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