Between the Senate and Ali

Two weeks ago, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Col Hammed Ali (rdt) ordered owners of all vehicles in the country whose customs duties have not been paid to do so or risk their vehicles being confiscated and the owners prosecuted. We condemned that order in an editorial and the Senate saw reasons and ordered the Custom’s boss to suspend the policy while ordering Ali to appear before the Senate dressed in Customs uniform to explain the rationale of the policy. But like the bad-mannered military man that he was, Mr Ali disagreed with the Senate and insisted that the policy will not be suspended neither will he wear the uniform of the organisation, being a former army Colonel. Mr Ali followed his threat by writing to the Senate, informing the legislative body that he will not appear before them as scheduled because he had to attend a customs management meeting slated for Wednesday, same day he was expected at the Senate. It took the intervention of the president, who is reported not to want further executive-legislative friction, to get Ali to appear before the Senate. But even when he did, he appeared in mufti and the Senate did the proper thing by sending him away to come back at a later date fully dressed in Customs’ uniform.

We note with consternation how Mr Ali has been disregarding constituted authority and behaving as if he is above the law since his appointment as Comptroller General of Customs. First, against the standard procedure of reporting to the Minister of Finance, he preferred to report directly to the President. He has also refused to wear the Custom’s uniform and have had repeated quarrels with his boss, the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun over matters that are purely within her jurisdiction like approval of special salary scales for the Customs service.

We condemn this high-handedness of Mr Ali and his contempt for the institution of the Senate. It shows he is carrying the obscene military mentality of superiority and non-subordination to democratic institutions. He must be disabused of that mentality. We urge the Senate to remain steadfast and insist that the Customs boss does as he is ordered to do. He must adopt the correct mentality needed to serve under a democratic government, which is governed not just by laws but also by precedents, norms and conventions.

Sadly, this is an indictment of President Muhammadu Buhari and his management of executive-legislature relationship. The responsibility to ensure that all his appointees adhere and subject themselves to democratic control is strictly that of the president. No one who is openly contemptuous of our democratic institutions should be appointed to public office.

But we have noted, of late, how the President’s appointees have been undermining his authority. It is a sign of weakness or failure to have appointees that do not respect the president and work to undermine him or show contempt for legitimate democratic institutions.

Mr Ali cannot consider himself above an institution and still remain its head. If he cannot wear the Customs uniform, then he has no business being the Comptroller General of Customs. He cannot be above an organisation that he heads.