• As 43 successful bidders emerge in first week

The Customs Comptroller General, Col. Hameed Ali on Monday made clarification in how only the Jaiz bank has keyed into the Nigeria Customs Service e-auction platform, even a week after the Service flagged off its bidding process.

The clarification became necessary following public complaints, questions and commentaries on the Nigeria Customs Service e-auction platform, with mounting angers that only a Muslim bank was enabled, to the detriment of other 23 banks.

The Costoms e-auction was officially launched on the 3rd of July 2017 by the Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (Rtd), with funfare, by a CGC who proudly boasted that he has bequeathed a system to eliminate every complaint, particularly those bothering on nepotism.

“The Service wishes to make some clarifications especially as the inability of other commercial banks to hook up to the platform is creating inconveniences that could lead to wrong perception that pinges on the integrity of the process”, the retired Col. indicated in a statement made available by his image-maker, Joseph Attah, stating as follows:

*   “That all the 23 Customs duty collecting banks were carried along, properly trained in the process.

* “When the platform was developed, it was subjected to user acceptability test with all the banks including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

*   “Throughout this period, no bank indicated any problem with the platform.

“However, upon launch of the platform https.app.trade.gov.ng/eauction only Jaiz Bank was discovered to be ready and active on the platform”, the CGC highlighted, noting that the Service immediately wrote a letter to all the designated banks requesting them to “integrate with the e-auction application for the recharging of e-wallet” same day 3rd July 2017.

Expatiating further, the statement recalled that the Service on Wednesday 5th July 2017 dispatched another letter to CBN expressing the need for the Apex bank to confirm the readiness of Commercial Banks under its  supervision to perform their roles in the process to ensure the success of the project.

“While we are being told that other banks are making frantic efforts to sort out whatever technical problem that is to hook up to the platform, this clarification is necessary to correct whatever wrong insinuation that could be generated as a result of having only one bank presently on the platform”, the statement indicated further, celebrating the fact that in spite of the initial hitches, the Service is happy to announce that the first 48 hours bidding period, Monday 12 noon to Wednesday 12 noon actually produced 43 winners.

“Items uploaded were 130 vehicles, 43 bided for and won.

“While 282 people registered, 268 were enabled with 245 able to generate e-wallet assessment. Out of 177 that recharged their e-wallets, 68 bided and 43 emerged as winners.

“The second round of bidding starts today Monday 10th July 2017 and will stop at 12 noon on Wednesday 12th July 2017.

“While looking forward to seeing more banks hook to the platform and ease the process for bidders, we wish to assure the general public of the Service determination to ensure that the transparent and accountable e-auction process succeeds”, Ali concluded, stressing the Customs Service resolve and motivation to turn the exercise into a money spinning venture for the Federal Government.