At last, the tenure of the Comptroller-General, CG,
of the Nigeria Customs Service, Dikko Inde
Abdullahi, adjudged to be the most controversial
in the agency, maybe coming to an end.
Information at the disposal of Nigerian Pilot
showed that Dikko ought to leave office on August
18, 2014, but has remained in office under a
questionable renewal of his tenure.
And to save the Federal Government from further
embarrassment over Dikko’s tenure, President
Muhammadu Buhari is said to have initiated
plans to replace him as soon as possible.
Dikko was appointed CG of Nigeria Customs
Service, NCS on August 9, 2009 by the late
President Umar Musa Yar’Adua, for a four-year
term which elapsed on August 18, 2013 and since
then, the Katsina-born officer has remained in
office following unconfirmed reports that he was
given a two-year lifeline by former President
Goodluck Jonathan.
By implication, the extension will elapse in two
weeks time except President Buhari again
elongates it for another two years, which official
sources said “is highly unlikely to happen.”
Nigerian Pilot learnt that the Presidency has
started the process of easing Dikko out of office.
This revelation will however come as a surprise to
Nigerians who are privy to the claims that Dikko
contributed a substantial sum of money to the
Buhari Campaign Organisation, an action
expected to keep him in the President’s good
books.
It was gathered that Buhari was reluctant to
receive any contributions from Dikko but his
associates intervened and after the presidential
election, he had shunned the NCS boss.
After his first term of four years expired in August
2013, Dikko was alleged to have made frantic
efforts to retain his plum job, including endearing
himself to the First Family at the time and
currying favours and sentiments from senior
officers he selectively promoted in the Service.
Dikko’s actions did not go unnoticed as close
watchers of the sector called for his removal,
accusing him of financial misappropriation, high-
handedness and favouritism.
In spite of the clamour for Dikko’s removal, he
waxed stronger and told anyone who cared to
listen that he would remain the Comptroller-
General as long as Jonathan was in office.
Not to take anything away from the man, Dikko’s
administration started off on a sound footing,
improving the welfare of officers and men of the
Service and developing capacity and increasing
revenues collected. He however lost his way due
to his unchecked powers and the lush funds at
his disposal.
An investigation into Dikko’s lifestyle in office
revealed that he spends more than two-thirds of
a year on overseas’ trips, practically converting
the Customs# private jet into personal use.
Sources said that Buhari has so far rebuffed all
attempts CGC DIkko had made to have audience
with him. This is in spite of Dikko’s huge financial
donations to the Buhari Campaign Organisation
during the last presidential elections. President
Buhari has never hidden his disdain for Dikko’s
flamboyant lifestyle, coupled with his knowledge
of the rot in the Customs under Dikko’s watch.
Our sources say even before his emergence as
President, Buhari had wondered how such high-
profile scandals in the Customs could go
unnoticed by the Jonathan administration in the
face of all the daily infractions in terms of huge
bribes by the importing community, inflated
contracts and flagrant disregard for anti-
smuggling laws which may have paved the way
for the influx of arms and ammunition fuelling the
war against insurgency and violent crimes such
as armed robbery, political assassinations and
high-profile kidnappings.
Personal Grudges
• President Buhari has allegedly had personal
scores to settle with Dikko. For instance, when in
2013 he hosted the CGs’ conference in Katsina
State, he invited all the past Presidents and
Heads of State, except PMB.
• Dikko was also said to have worked against
Buhari in the 2007 and 2011 elections.
• Dikko was said not to have paid a condolence
visit when Buhari lost his daughter.
• When a childhood friend of the President,
Comptroller Jamo, was going to be prematurely
retired a couple of years ago, he was said to have
requested Dikko to spare Jamo, but Dikko
refused.
His coming replacement
Knowing that his time is up, Dikko is said to be
lobbying for one of his Deputy Comptrollers-
General (DCGs) from the North-East to succeed
him. He allegedly met a brick wall at the
Presidency.
Nigerian Pilot recalls that prior to the 2015 polls,
Dikko allegedly boasted that he had been able to
secure from the All Progressives Congress, APC
presidential candidate, a promise that should he
win the Presidency, the office of the CG will never
go to the South even when he, Dikko, leaves
office.
Last Sallah
During the last Sallah, Dikko allegedly made
further moves to pay the President a Sallah visit,
but Buhari purportedly insisted that he would
have nothing to do with him, our sources said.
Mounting Pressure
Meanwhile, there is growing dissent among top
politicians and concerned stakeholders over
Dikko’s perpetuation in office since his official
tenure as CG ended in August 2013. According to
our sources, Dikko, who is believed to be banking
on assurances by some powerful interests, is said
to be recently plagued by the numerous petitions
forwarded to the Presidency against him.
For instance, last week, a pressure group, the
Nigeria Customs Transparency Initiative, NCTI,
dragged the Customs boss before the
Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related
Offences Commission, ICPC, urging it to among
others, probe Dikko over allegations of abuse of
office.
In its prayer, the NCTI called on the leadership of
the Customs to account for the alleged
disappearance of some containers and the
N3.5billion incurred on the installation of internet
facilities by the Service. Other allegations levelled
against Dikko included the manipulation of
promotions, highhandedness, inflation of
procurement bills, as well as selective postings to
juicy positions nationwide.
Numbered days
“As PMB continues to keep Nigerians guessing
what his next move will be, one thing is certain:
Dikko will not play any part in the new
administration as Mr. President has vowed not to
work with corrupt individuals, no matter the part
of the country they come from.
“The plethora of litigations against the outgoing
Customs chief is an indictment on his integrity
thus rendering him ineligible to serve on the
infallible team PMB is said to be recruiting to
fulfil the task of ridding Nigeria of corruption and
attaining a status befitting of our country,” a
Presidency source said.
Another source at Customs House, Abuja added
that: “If I were in his (Dikko’s) shoes, I will resign
before I am disgraced out of office. A long list of
sins has been compiled against Dikko and it will
be a surprise if he does not become a guest of
the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,
EFCC, after his removal from office. Never in the
history of the Civil Service has one person
become stupendously wealthy in a space of six
years,” he stated.

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http://nigerianpilot.com/cg-of-customs-buhari-shops-for-inde-dikkos-replacement/

Hmph....

Nice

So, the first tenure elongation was made becos...there wasn't any capable hand to replace him? Even after being tagged the most controversial?

Nigeria sha..you wonder why we are where we are.

TheMadame would like this news.

If this is true, this is indeed good news.

Billionaire Dikko needs a good rest after all these years of toiling...let him enjoy his retirement.

Good news for importers! "Impunity" is about to be replaced with "Transparency", hopefully...

EFCC start warming up to question a billionaire civil servant

stevecantrell:
Billionaire Dikko needs a good rest after all these years of toiling...let him enjoy his retirement.

If his hands are clean, no problem.

Why is the April 2015 Nigerian law school examination results not out?

They keep postponing the release of the results keeping a lot of students in morbid tension.

We want change, not delay. Haba!!

Pls the relevant authorities should look into this as a matter of urgency.

.

Lalasticalala na Wetin I do you?

Mheeeen d man tay 4 custom o

This man is a certificate forger and a money launderer. He is richerthan some state governments and has spent all his lifein government employment. His mansion in Katsina State is a folklore among civil servants.
He needs to be retired and tried for economic sabotage asap.
He totally personified the Customs dept. He is the most corrupt civil servant in Nigeriatoday and implmented selective promotions of his totally unqualified stooges in all positions of authority,from wherethey make mafia kind of fraudulent returns to him every week in US dollars.

CG of Customs is a very "juicy" post indeed, more so than all the other service chiefs combined, even more than the likes of CBN Governor etc. Only the GMD of NNPC is juicier than it.

One Nut!
One Nought!
One North!

Caveatemptor:
This man is a certificate forger and a money launderer. He is richerthan some state governments and has spent all his lifein government employment. His mansion in Katsina State is a folklore among civil servants.
He needs to be retired and tried for economic sabotage asap.
He totally personified the Customs dept. He is the most corrupt civil servant in Nigeriatoday and implmented selective promotions of his totally unqualified stooges in all positions of authority,from wherethey make mafia kind of fraudulent returns to him every week in US dollars.

May Baba do the right thing

1. Turning the Nigeria Customs Service into his personal fiefdom where he verbally dishes out promotions to unqualified vassals without recourse to due process.
2. Promoting his vassals to positions of authority as Area Comptrollers,from where he recieves tremendous returns every week in US dollars.
3. Promoting economic sabotage through notorious cross border smuggler Dahiru Mangal. Trailer loads of prohibited goods are smuggled into the country without being checked with reckless abandon.
4.Appointments into the service of unqualified candidates,who are immediately posted to various commands with NO basic training in customs procedure.
5,Insitutionalising indiscipline into the Service,by continually promoting his cronies above their seniors,who are stagnated on one rank for up to eight years.

Long overdue. I hope he will not only be disgraced out of office but stripped of every single wealth he has acquired legally and otherwise. I wish he would also rot in jail.

The man's corruption level is on a very stinking high and still can't see why he is in authority.

Finally this thread is now relevant ooooo because of this new thread https://www.nairaland.com/2516205/customs-boss-dikko-gives-resignation Lalasticalala, Seun, Ishilove take this to the Headquaters!

Gboliwe:
Long overdue. I hope he will not only be disgraced out of office but stripped of every single wealth he has acquired legally and otherwise. I wish he would also rot in jail.

The man's corruption level is on a very stinking high and still can't see why he is in authority.

Very good! ThankGod he has put in his intent on paper to resign.