The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), in its ongoing e-auction of 462 impounded vehicles, said it realised about N556.74 million while dispelling rumours of allotting 300 vehicles to a single individual.
The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) 100 Compliance team had, in a statement, accused members of the e-auction committee of a monumental fraud.
In the statement signed by the National Coordinator of the Compliance Team, Alhaji Tanko Ibrahim, it was alleged that over 300 impounded vehicles were allotted to one person at the rate of N10,000 per vehicle.
Meanwhile, the National Public Relations Officer of the Service, CSC Abdullahi Maiwada, in a statement, said from the data generated upon completing five successful bidding windows, 13,605 applicants registered on its e-auction portal, adding that during the process, 476 impounded vehicles were uploaded on the service portal, adding that 462 of them were won by the applications.
He said, “The government realised N556,738,736 as revenue from the e-auction sale. It begs the question of where the allegations of monumental stealing by the Customs Auction Committee and the committee’s plans to dispose of overtime containers are coming from.”
Maiwada further stated that it was disheartening to note the serious allegations against the integrity of the ongoing e-auction process designed to provide a level playing ground for all Nigerians.
According to him, the NCS is a law-abiding government organisation dedicated to maintaining a high level of accountability and transparency in all its activities.
“We wish to categorically deny involvement in fraudulent activities or underhand dealings in the e-auctioning of vehicles or other goods. The NCS Auction Committee operates within the confines of the law and adheres strictly to established guidelines and procedures for disposing of seized/overtime goods.
“Regarding the allegation that over 300 vehicles have been auctioned to just one individual via the e-auction window after purported underhand payments, we wish to state that this is entirely false, misguided, and spurious.
“Furthermore, suggesting that a token sum of N10,000 is collected as duties to the Federal Government on the e-auction window, which has a reserved price of N400, 000 is indeed misleading and misrepresentation of fact,” he said.
