Lawmaker Speaks On Planned Retirement Of 1,516 Customs Officers

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise, Leke Abejide, has said the planned retirements in the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) are statutory.

Naija News reports that Abejide, in a statement on Sunday, dismissed claims that the exercise was linked to reports surrounding the appointment of a new Comptroller-General of Customs.

He faulted allegations that the purported appointment of Deputy Comptroller I.D. Olorunfemi, as the next Comptroller-General, would lead to the forced retirement of senior officers.

“The Civil Service Rules are very clear. Retirement after 35 years in service or at the age of 60 is not by compulsion; it is by law. Therefore, suggestions that any officer would be retired to create room for another appointment are false and misleading,” he said.

Abejide attributed the large number of expected retirements to a prolonged recruitment gap in the Service.

“There is a 16-year gap of non-recruitment and stagnant promotion. As a result, officers of 41000, 42000, and 43000 service numbers categories have risen through the ranks almost simultaneously and now occupy similar levels of seniority,” he said.

The lawmaker said the situation had created a top-heavy structure, with many officers reaching retirement age or service limits around the same period.

He added that over 1,500 officers were expected to retire under Public Service Rule 100238, describing the exercise as natural and legally mandated.