The Comptroller General of the Nigerian Customs, Abdullahi Dikko Inde, has turned in his resignation letter to President Muhammad Buhari indicating he wishes to leave the job on August 18, according to sources in the presidency.
Dikko has served out his first four year tenure and has served two years into his unannounced second tenure, and it is unclear why he has decided to go in one week’s time. Our sources however note that several Customs leaders are currently being investigated for corruption and some may be fired or arrested.
President Buhari is reportedly looking to fill Dikko’s position with a Customs officer from the South-South.
It is understood that President Buhari had earlier turned down the resignation letter, asking Dikko to give him time to study the Customs and its operations, but that he has now accepted the resignation.
SaharaReporters learnt that the President, whose tenure has seen officials of several government agencies turning in similar resignation letters, has resisted such attempts. Our sources say Buhari prefers to watch and then fire them the way he did with former NSA Sambo Dasuki and military Service chiefs recently.
It would be recalled that in 2009, one Olajide Oyewole accused Alhaji Inde Dikko of having forged his academic credentials with his help.
In a video testimony obtained by SaharaReporters, Oyewole said the Customs boss illegally obtained Certificates No 10912 and 10993 belonging to the Nigerian Institute of Management, and also forged the West African Examinations Council Certificate No.NGSG 37836, documents that enabled him to eventually become Comptroller-General of Customs.
But speaking in an interview with Primetime Reporters, the National Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Mr. Wale Adeniyi admitted having read the story from the newspapers just like any other Nigerian adding that the only place a confirmation regarding the authenticity or otherwise of that information should be obtained is the Presidency.
Wale further stated that he had not seen Dikko to ask him whether he actually sent such notice to the President.
According to him,” You can only find it out at the Presidency. I don’t know, I read about it as well just like you did. The truth is that I don’t know and I have not been able to see Oga to ask him whether he actually sent anything to the President”.
When asked whether or not the Service could confirm the development, he queried,” Would there be confirmation from customs? The confirmation can only come from where the information went to. That is my understanding”.
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