The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has debunked the allegation that it collected N10,000 as duties to the Federal Government on its e-auction window for sales of seized vehicles.
The information, the NCS said, was misleading and misrepresenting the fact of the matter.
It said the vehicles had a reserved price of N400,000.
The auction process, Customs National Public Relations Officer Abdullahi Maiwada said, gave every Nigerian that bided for a vehicle an equal opportunity.
Most of the exotic vehicles that were seized by the service, it was learnt, are under litigation and cannot be auctioned to the public until the courts rule on them and forfeit them to the Federal Government.
From the data generated upon completion of five successful bidding windows on its revived electronic auction portal, the NCS said 13,605 applicants registered in the windows, while 476 vehicles were uploaded and 462 were successful.
The NCS also said the Federal Government made N556,738,736 as revenue from the auction.
Maiwada said the service was unhappy to see allegations that impugned on the integrity of the e-auction process, which was designed to provide a level playing field for all Nigerians.
He said: “The NCS is a law-abiding government organisation dedicated to maintaining the most outstanding levels of accountability and transparency in all its activities. It takes any accusations of improper behaviour seriously.
“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, the spokesman said, “operates within the confines of the law and adheres strictly to established guidelines and procedures for disposing of seized/overtime goods”.
Maiwada denied the allegation that over 300 vehicles were auctioned to one individual via the e-auction, stressing that the allegation “is entirely false, misguided, and spurious”.
He added: “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”.
Commenting on the data generated following the completion of five successful bidding windows, Maiwada said: “(A total of) 13,605 applicants registered in five windows on our e-auction portal where 476 vehicles were uploaded and 462 won. Also, the government realised N556,738,736 as revenue. It begs the question of where the allegations are coming from.
“We wish to reaffirm our commitment to transparency, accountability, and adherence to the rule of law in all our activities. We urge members of the public to join the service with the common goal of promoting an inclusive system that is fair to all Nigerians, irrespective of their status”.
He urged members of the public to always confirm from Customs’ commands and formations across the country before paying for any auctioned items by the service.
