The House of Representatives is opposed to the plan by the Federal Government to purchase new scanners for the Nigerian Customs Service while 22 old ones procured at the cost $120 million are wasting away.
The House rather preferred that the old scanners be repaired and put to use instead spending another taxpayers’ money on acquiring new ones.
Members of the House Committee on Customs and Excise made their feelings known at a public hearing on Monday on lack of transparency on the transfer of technical know-how from Cotecna Destination Inspection Limited, Societe Generale De Surveillance, to Nigeria Customs Service and Global Scan Systems.
Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed who was represented by the director, home finance of the Ministry of Finance, Stephen Okon had told the lawmakers that arrangement was being made by the government to procure three scanners for the Customs as a stop-gap measure.
Okon explained that lack of spare parts was responsible for the repairs of the 22 scanners bought for the Nigeria Customs Service in 2006, saying the unavailability of the spare parts was also responsible for the abandonment of the scanners.
Recall that the 22 scanners were procured by the Federal Government at the cost of $120 million in 2006 and handed over to Cotecna Destination Inspection Limited, Societe Generale De Surveillance and Global Scan Systems on a build, operate and transfer basis with seven years contract but they were handed over to the Nigeria Customs Service on December 1, 2013.
Okon disclosed that: “At the expiration of the contract in December 2012, they were further extended for a period of six months which ended in June 2013.
Subsequently, the federal government entered into transition agreement commencing from 1st July to November 30, 2013.”
He stated that the then minister of finance constituted a transition implementation committee with the mandate to collaborate with the manufacturers of the scanners to conduct an acceptance procedure test on the scanners to make them operational before handing them over to the Customs.
The director said all faults detected were handed over to the service providers to rectify at the end of the exercise, lamenting that Global Scan systems failed to fulfil its obligation to fix the faults.
Okon also said despite that, the Customs Service signed a memorandum of understanding with Global Scan system for the provision, operation and management of the scanners, information technology and telecommunication hardware and software training and equipment.
But in a response, the representative of Smith Detection, manufacturer of the Scanners, Manoj Jagtiani said spare parts for the scanners were available and majority of them located in various parts of the country can be repaired and made functional.
Jagtiani said smith detection scanners underscored the quality and durability of the scanners, stressing that the scanners in the National Assembly and the Presidential villa were manufactured by the company and have been maintaining them for over 20 years, adding that it would be out of place to say the scanners have no spare parts.
He said his company held series of meetings with government officials and officials of the Nigeria Customs Service and submitted quotations for the repairs and rehabilitation of the existing scanners.
Jagtiani stated that about 13 of the existing scanners can still be repaired and upgraded for the use of the Nigeria Customs Service but the spare parts can only be purchased from the manufacturers.
To this end, members of the committee alleged a sabotage, wondering why the government would thinking of buying new ones when the old one could be repaired.
They also expressed surprise that Global Scan System Limited that failed to honour its commitment to the government when they were supposed to hand over the scanners to the government were again contracted to work with the Customs in the management of the scanners only for the entire system to collapse one year after.
“I am forced to believe that there is some element of sabotage somewhere because it does not make sense to abandon 22 scanners and made no effort to repair any of them and you are going to buy three or four. Why can’t we explore the option of repair and modernisng the existing ones?”, a member of the committee, Oluwatimehin Adelegbe queried.
Reprehensive of Comptroller-General of Customs, A. Saidu said the scanners were handed over to the Customs Service without the consumables.
Saidu stated that Global Scan System was responsible for the consumables but regretting that the company while operating the system failed to fulfill its own side of the bargain.
He disclosed that the company recently wrote the Service, demanding payment for services not rendered, threatening to drag them to court which Customs was “still waiting for the summon”.
While declaring the hearing open, speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila regretted that the scanners were not functioning after spending $120 million.
Represented by the chairman of the House Committee on House Services, Wale Raji, Gbajabiamila charged the committee to do a thorough investigation.
