Following the appointment of Col Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd) as the new Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs Service, the President, League of Maritime Editors, Ovie Edomi, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to have a rethink over the appointment.

Edomi on Friday, August 28, 2015, stated that though the appointment came with surprise, it could kill professionalism and spur low morale which will automatically impact on revenue drive.

“First, the desire of every top Customs officer is to get to the peak of the career and impact on younger officers but in a situation where officers who have gotten to the peak cannot be called upon to head the Customs, it creates room for lack of confidence, low morale and dissatisfaction among the rank and file. The crop of Customs officer that Nigeria presently has  been well trained at home and abroad and can stand out amongst other Customs officers globally. It would only have been fair for Mr President to appoint from among the rank and file of the top Customs officers a Comptroller-General, in the spirit of career progression and professionalism,” the group stated. Edomi stated in the statement.

According to him, President Buhari made the appointment base on reasons best known to him but it is imperative for Nigerians to know that Nigerian Customs officer are respected globally. “No doubt, Mr President may have made the appointment, but Nigerians must understand that the Nigerian Customs service of today occupies a place of pride in the World Customs Association, an arm of the World Trade Organization because of the professionalism that has been displayed over the last decade by Nigerian Customs officers. While our beloved President may be thinking of generating revenue and blocking linkages in the Customs, professionalism that makes the Customs so highly respected amongst   nations must not be destroyed. It is in this light, that l call on Mr President to take another look at the appointment of a military man to head the Customs.