The Senate Joint Committee on Customs and Marine Transport investigative panel on Thursday made startling revelations on Thursday, indicating that some commercial banks, shipping firms, terminal operators have designed a cabal working with some officials of Customs and Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) to defraud the Federal Government.
According to the Committee chairman, Senator Hope Uzodinma, the deals of the cabal are now in excess of N30tn and must be stopped and all monies returned to the government coffers.
Uzodinma who gave tailored lines of the alleged fraud, saying the infractions come in various forms beginning with abuse and violation of foreign exchange issued by Central Bank of Nigeria, incorrect classification and under valuation of vessels coming into Nigeria.
According to the preliminary investigation by his committee into activities of Customs, financial leakages and malpractices in the country’s seaports and revenue system, evidence of how “a group of unpatriotic persons brazenly constitute themselves into cabal to inflict infractions at the nation’s sea ports.”
The Committee boss averred that “Senate, determined to end the villainous assault on the economy of the nation and has taken the bull by the horn and set to get to the bottom of this organized crime and come up with future proof and ways of eradicating this gruesome menace.”
However, efforts to get the immediate reaction of the NPA, Customs on the allegation failed at press time on Thursday.
