The heads of two key federal agencies who are also close allies of President Muhammadu Buhari are currently at each other’s throat over collection of $25, 000 of ship levy from vessels that berth at the nation’s ports.
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The disagreement by the two officials appears to confirm insinuations of division among some leading lights of the Buhari administration.
The turf war stems from a letter written by the Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS), Lawal Daura, to President Buhari on September 8.
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In the letter, the security chief accused the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) of introducing $25,000 as new Temporary Import Permit (TIP) levy on each vessel that berths to discharge petroleum products in Nigeria.
Daura is a kinsman of the President while the Director-General of NCS, Hameed Ali, a retired colonel was Buhair’s chief of staff before he won election as Nigeria’s president.
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The said levy, as Daura reported to the President, was illegal as it was not provided for on the PPRA template, not receipted, and could increase the cost of petrol by 56 kobo per litre.
In international trade, TIP is a customs’ procedure under which certain goods can be brought into a country without payment of duties or taxes and without import prohibition and restriction. But before it is issued, those knowledgeable about NCS operations regarding the issuance said an applicant must post a bond to cover the import duty and other charges inclusive of the 25 per cent penalty in case of violation of the terms.
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In Daura’s memo to the President, he further reported that the alleged introduction of $25,000 TIP levy followed the detention of a vessel, MT Histria Ivory at Apapa by NCS operatives.
He reported to the President that Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) made the complaint that formed the basis of his memo.
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A week after receiving the memo, Buhari forwarded it to Ali, demanding his “summary report of your considered view”.
In his response, Ali told the President that the SSS under Daura appeared to be more interested in smear campaign and personal vendetta than in thorough investigation and anti-corruption efforts of the administration.
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He explained that the said vessel, MT Histria Ivory, was truly detained but that was after it was sighted discharging cargo at Apapa Jetty.
He said the detention was to ascertain whether it had TIP or liable for payment of duty.
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While the investigation was ongoing, before Daura’s memo to the President, MOMAN alleged imposition of $25,000 TIP levy per vessel by the NCS via a letter copied to the Minister for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu; Minister for Finance, Kemi Adeosun; the SSS and the Customs chief.
MOMAN wrote the complaint letter one week before Daura sent the memo to the president.