From the Civil Service: Growing apprehension over payroll administration in customs

[Mirror]

• Officers want CGC's intervention

Operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service have expressed dissatisfaction with the manner in which complaints regarding their salaries were being handled by the accounts section of the Service.

Some affected personnel, who spoke to National Mirror, also alleged that they were sensing fraud in the entire situation asking for urgent intervention of the CGC, Abdulahi Dikko for solutions.

Those who confided in National Mirror, alleged also that they have had issues with their salaries not beng paid for months due to certain errors, which most times, were allegedly orchestrated by the negligence of the personnel in that section.

Moreover, even when the errors were corrected, they alleged that the officials of that unit put them through hell before such money could come out.

National Mirror's investigations revealed that most of those who suffered these pains were those who changed their names or effected some changes with their banks, even with proper knowledge of the Service.

Sources close to the accounts section in Customs headquarters revealed that these kind of complaints were rampant, alleging that the officials of that section were often sluggish to resolve these complaints for undisclosed reasons.

Such cases National Mirror learnt were on-going in the Service, where personnel from Bauchi, Lagos states commands amongst others, have had issues some which have lasted up to a year without being resolved.

It was gathered that most of these complaints were either between banks used by Customs and those of the personnel, or even within the accounts section, which frequency of occurrence has led to the Service's continual changing of the banks used to despatch staff salaries.

Within the past seven years, National Mirror learnt that the accounts section had changed about four banks due to this pressure. It was also learnt that the numerous complaints was with returned vouchers and in some cases vouchers not returned at all and the officer's account not credited.

Only last month, these noticeable complaints were said to have caused the account section to again, change the bank used for despatching the salaries.

It was gathered also that with these complaints, there were no internal mechanisms in place to resolve them unless the affected personnel has a serious connection at the headquarters to push for its resolution.

The complainants stressed the need for the Comptroller General of Customs, Abdulahi Inde Diko, to carry out a thorough investigation into the activities and actions of personnel in accounts section and save staff from these ordeals.

Personnel also sought an overhaul of that section, alleging that some persons have entrenched themselves there to do evil to the detriment of their colleagues.

They alleged serious foul play and ploys to rip them off, as some affected persons who shared their experiences with National Mirror said that they had spent so much money on transportation, telephone calls and meeting people to intervene, so that those responsible could resolve their problems.

National Mirror