Joseph Attah, the Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has stated that the service under the control of Col. Hammed Ali (rtd) can not owe any staff salary.
This statement was made by Mr. Joseph Attah, the NCS spokesman in a telephone interview at the weekend.
When contacted to ascertain if the service was owing personnel working at the borders 10 months salaries as reported in the media, the NCS spokesman insisted that the story was a figment of its writer’s imagination.
According to him, the present Customs boss cannot owe staff salaries because he would not want them to have any excuse to embark on corrupt practices.
Attah, who wondered whether there was any staff complaining over unpaid salaries, asked our Abuja correspondent to discretely find out from the accounts section of the service if any staff was yet to earn his payment.
He revealed even those that go on transfer and leave, receive their allowances without delay.
The PRO added that the border drill the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA ) coordinated has since been disbanded while the remaining few staff have been transformed into Joint Border Patrol.
Attah said: “Is there any officer you know of on border drill that has not been paid? The team has been disbanded since. It is only some of them that are remaining now, who have been transformed to Joint the Borders Patrol.
“Is it this Customs under Col. Hameed Ali they should say is not paying? How, when transfer and all leave allowances are paid?
“If they are bringing a story, they should bring another one, not non-payment of staff on border drill.
“Somebody just wants to mention someone (Hameed Ali) in bad light. Why should someone cook up a bad story and says he wants me to balance it?”