26th September, 2022
By Naomi Sharang
The National Assembly has summoned the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, to appear before it on Thursday.
They are to account for the state of the award of scanners that had been adjudged as not functional.
Retired Col. Hameed Ali, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), is to also appear before the Joint Committee on Customs and Excise.
Sen. Francis Alimikhena, the chairman of the joint committee, gave the directive during an investigative hearing on Sunday in Abuja.
Alimikhena said that the contract was given to Webb Fontaine by the ministry of finance to provide the IT infrastructure for the Nigeria Customs Service for effective scanning activities.
Not happy with the development, Alimikhena frowned at the absence of the Minister, the CBN Governor and other stakeholders that were involved.
He said that the minister of finance, the CG of Customs, the CBN Governor, Webb Fontaine Limited, and other stakeholders must appear before the Committee on Thursday, Sept. 29.
However, he warned that no representative would be attended to as the issue at stake involved revenue generation for the country.
“We want to see the minister, the CG Customs, the CBN governor, and the President of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF).
“At the Assembly, we do not want to see any representation; we want to make a decision about Nigeria.”
“This is about the revenue of the country. Webb Fontaine is very important in this matter. They have made serious money in this country.”
NAN