By Nuel Suji The Senate on Wednesday called for the resignation of the Comptroller General of Custom, Rtd Colonel Hameed Ali as he is unfit to hold and public office.
This resolution was among other strongly worded resolutions which directed the Comptroller General of Customs to with immediate effect cancel the retrospective policy on the payment of customs duty while it looks for more effective way of collecting duties from vehicle importers at the points of entry into the country.
A very charged Senate on Wednesday also resolved that the resolution reached should be forwarded to the House of Representatives for Concurrence so that the senate will be seen as an institution that respects the words and letters of the constitution.
The Senate which has been at loggerheads with the CG of Custom in the last three weeks over the policy considered to be unfriendly to Nigerian could not hold its anger any further upon receiving a letter signed by the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN who in a letter titled: Re: Suit No. FHC/ ABJ/CS/207/2017 Muhammad Ibrahim ESQ VS Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (RTD) and 4 others informed the Red chamber that the originating Summons seeking amongst other declarations ‘‘ whether the oversight functions of the national assembly extends to compelling and/ or giving directives to the 1st defendant to wear uniform.
Malami in the letter dated March 21, 2017 said ‘‘In line with the principles of rule of law. Court Decisions and most importantly, the declarations sought having been deeply rooted in the constitutional provisions; I hold the view that this matter is subjudice’’
‘‘ In view of 3 above, it is in the interest of justice and Rule of Law to stay all actions in this case until the constitutional issues raised in the matters are resolved by the law court. I wish to further intimate you that as a defendant in the said suit. I intend to file process and pursue it to a logical conclusion’’
After listening to the Deputy Clerk read the letter on the floor of the Senate, the Deputy President of the Senate who presided over Wednesdays plenary called for comments from colleagues.
First to speak was senator Benjamin Uwajumogu who said ‘‘ No arm of government has the power to stop another arm from carrying out its constitutional responsibilities, there is no way a court action can stop the Senate from taking action on its legislative duties’’
Senator Dino Melaye was particularly emphatic as he stressed that the letter before the Senate is a mere court process.
His words ‘‘What we have is not a court injunction or a court order, it is just a mere court process, it is a dark day for democracy’’.
Melaye lamented that it was unimaginable that the AGF could expect the senate to abandon its constitutional responsibility just because the AGF served it a court process.
‘‘What we have from the AGF is an insult on the National assembly, where did the AGF derive his powers from to direct or suggest to the Senate what it should do’’
‘‘Today I draw inspiration from the Public service Rule 2004, section 802, the position of the CG is a rank and anyone occupying that office is a civil servant’’.
