The Nigeria Customs Service recently unveiled an electronic auction platform by which cargoes that had been forfeited to the Federal Government could be sold to Nigerians through a transparent bidding process.
The unveiling of the e-auction platform was performed at the headquarters of the NCS by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (retd.).
Present at the event were members of the e-auction committee made up of representatives of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Standards Organisation of Nigeria, and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, among others.
Ali described the inauguration of the platform as a game-changer for the service as it would bring about a regime of transparency and consistency in the disposal of seized vehicles to Nigerians.
He said the approval of the electronic platform was done based on the conviction that it would assist in checking the abuse, which the manual auction process was subjected to in the past.
Ali stated that it was the realisation of the abuse in the manual auctioning system that made him to suspend it when he assumed office last year.
He said, “The launching of the e-auction platform today marks a complete departure from the manual process of the past that was opened to abuses.
“In the past, stakeholders had accused the service of nepotism, short-changing the government of revenue through arbitrary auction fees to be paid by allottees, and sundry corruption allegations against the service.”
