Lawmakers summon CBN Governor, Finance Minister over port scanner contract
By Hauwa Ali
The National Assembly has summoned the Governor of Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele and the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, over contract that was given to a private firm, Webb Fontaine by the finance ministry to provide the IT infrastructure for the Nigerian Customs Service for scanning.
According to Sen. Francis Alimikhena, the joint committee chairman on customs and excise, who gave the directive during an investigative hearing on Sunday in Abuja, the development has not been good.
The summoned officials are expected at the parliament to appear before the Joint Committee on Customs and Excise on Thursday.
Hameed Ali, the comptroller-general of the Nigeria Customs Service, was also summoned.
“We want to see the minister, the CG customs, the CBN governor, president of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF).
“We do not want to see any representation. We want to take a decision about Nigeria. This is about the revenue of the country. Webb Fontaine is very important in this matter. They have made serious money in this country.” Alimikhena said.
Webb Fontaine Limited and other stakeholders must also appear before the committee on Thursday.