…Denies Fraud Allegations
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has disclosed that the Federal Government generated a total sum of N556,738,736 as revenue from the recently conducted e-auction of vehicles and other goods.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Saturday, February 17, 2024, by the Chief Superintendent of Customs, National Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Maiwada on behalf of the Comptroller General of Customs.
The Service said, “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 N556,738,736 as revenue”.
The clarification was in response to an allegation of underhand dealings in the e-auctioning of vehicles levelled against the Service.
It was alleged that over 300 vehicles were auctioned to just one individual via the e-auction window after purported underhand payments.
It was also alleged that a token sum of N10,000 was collected as duties to the Federal Government on the e-auction window, which has a reserved price of N400,000.
These, the Service has dismissed as false, spurious, misleading, and misrepresentation of fact. Denying involvement in fraudulent activities in the e-auctioning of vehicles and other goods.
NCS said, its Auction Committee operated within the confines of the law and adhered strictly to established guidelines and procedures for disposing of seized/overtime goods.
“The NCS is a law-abiding government organization dedicated to maintaining the most outstanding levels of accountability and transparency in all its activities and taking any accusations of improper behaviour seriously.
“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 statement added.
