Civil societies have stormed the national assembly complex in Abuja, protesting the re-appointment of Dr. Vincent Isegbe as the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Agricultural Quarantine Service (NAQS), stating that the service was inefficient under his leadership, News About Nigeria reports.
The protesters, under the aegis of the Guardians of Democracy and Development Initiative and Nigerians of Good Conscience, led by Comrades Danesi Momoh and Igwe Ude-umanta, called on the Senator Godswill Akpabio-led National Assembly to reject the re-appointment of Isegbe.
They noted that it will be beneficial to both the agency and the nation if Isegbe is not reappointed.
The group maintained that the inefficiency of NAQS has resulted in great losses for Nigerians as rejected goods often spoil in transit on the way back to Nigeria, adding that this has also negatively affected the country’s foreign exchange since the imbalance in trade continues to increase.
They also noted that no significant achievement has been recorded in the nine years spent by Dr. Isegbe as the Comptroller General, adding that the service has no office of its own as it shares a space with a bank in Abuja.
“We must first of all put it on record that Dr. Isegbe has already spent four (4) years as Coordinating Director and five (5) years as Comptroller General, making nine years as the Head of the agency. This re-appointment will give him a cumulative fourteen (14) years in which there has been no significant achievement.
“It should also be on record that, for 8 years, there has been a ban on Nigeria’s exports in Europe and the rest of the world without any concrete effort by the leadership of NAQS to reverse it,” they stated.
They also noted that the inability to provide quality control services at NAQS has reduced the credibility of Dr. Vincent Isegbe, stating that his reappointment should, therefore, be jettisoned to give way to a credible and professional hand.
