Promotion exams breeds corruption in Customs - maritime lawyer

By ZION Olalekan |

A legal practitioner, Ovien Michael Imonitie Esq has called for the scrapping of promotional examination in the service, saying that this is one of the main reason why corruption is thriving in customs.

His call may not be unconnected with the recent cancellation of promotion examination set for top management personnel of the Nigeria Customs Service which was later cancelled, Imonitie, a maritime operator, stated this in a statement sent to Nigeriamaritime360.com, even as he urged customs to emulate other government agencies where promotion is carried out based on outstanding performance on the job.

He subsequently called on the management of the customs to compensate the affected officers in the recently cancelled exams in Abuja.

The customs promotional exams was abruptly cancelled last week Monday after all the 1,164 officers from all over the federation were already gathered at the Abuja headquarters of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) as at 7 o’clock in the morning awaiting their screening.

The examination exercise was however cancelled and postponed indefinitely without any given explanation.

Barr. Imonitie also sued for incentives to be given to those officers that risked their lives to move from their various locations to write the examination. He said that failure to do this, the customs management would further fuel corruption in the service.

He noted that the officers, mostly from the level of Superintendent to Deputy Comptrollers had to mobilize for themselves in terms of transportation, accommodation, feeding, and bribe their way to have good results or be promoted.

According to the maritime practitioner, it was laughable that the only security agency in Nigeria that scores the promotions of officers was the NCS through conduct of Examination, while others uses the performance method to promote their personnel.

“What a wonderful innovation but poorly managed by the Board because it encourages corruption within that service.

“If the officers of the Nigeria Custom Service had to travel to Abuja for any Examination for promotion sake, why do we have Zonal Offices across the Federation? I know you would be thinking alongside with me that what are the zonal heads doing? Are they really in charge of their zones? The answer to this question is NO.

“Since JAMB is a federal establishment and has is corporate offices spread across the nooks and corners of this country and the NCS wanted to use their medium in conducting such examination, then the examination would have been conducted at all Zonal Headquarters.

“At this point, we are asking the Board of Management Team of the Nigeria Custom Service Abuja Hq, to give compensation to all the affected officers that left their duty posts especially those Assistant Comptrollers with Passwords and Finger print”.

He told our correspondent that the absence of the senior officers from their duty posts further added to the hardship on Clearing Agents whose documents needed their attention because of the newly introduced NISIS 2, which doesn’t give room to any other person unless the officers the documents have been assigned to.

“The Board of Customs should make reviews, strategic planning and utilize the Zonal Heads and save the officers from reaping where they do not sow and make the organization corruption free” he said.