Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise, Leke Abejide, has dismissed claims that the reported emergence of a Deputy Comptroller of Customs, Ige Olorunfemi, as the next Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), to succeed the incumbent CGC Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, would trigger the forced retirement of senior officers, insisting that all exits from the service are being conducted strictly in line with established public service regulations.
Abejide, in a statement on Sunday, described reports suggesting that the succession process within the NCS could lead to the premature retirement of top officers as misleading and unfounded. He argued that the narrative was being fuelled by misinformation and failed to reflect the realities of the service’s personnel structure.
According to the lawmaker, no officer is being retired to create vacancies for any prospective appointment, stressing that all retirements currently taking place are statutory and based on provisions of the Public Service Rules. “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 explained that the Nigeria Customs Service is currently grappling with the long-term consequences of a recruitment gap that lasted for about 16 years, creating significant distortions in its workforce structure and career progression system.
He noted that the prolonged period of limited recruitment and stagnant promotion opportunities resulted in a large number of officers advancing through the ranks at roughly the same pace, leading to an unusual concentration of personnel within the upper hierarchy of the service.
According to him, officers in the 41000, 42000 and 43000 service number categories rose through the ranks almost simultaneously due to the prolonged stagnation, creating a crowded senior cadre and leaving relatively fewer officers in the lower and middle ranks.
“There is a 16-year gap of non-recruitment and stagnant promotion. As a result, officers of the 41000, 42000 and 43000 service number categories have risen through the ranks almost simultaneously and now occupy similar levels of seniority,” Abejide said. He added that the resulting imbalance has left the service top-heavy, with a significant number of officers attaining retirement age or completing the mandatory years of service around the same period.
The lawmaker disclosed that more than 1,500 officers are expected to retire under the provisions of Public Service Rule 100238, stressing that the development is a natural outcome of the service’s demographic structure rather than a consequence of any impending leadership change.
Abejide also rejected claims linking him to the reported incoming Customs chief, dismissing suggestions of family ties, political patronage or personal influence in the succession process.