But for President Muhammadu Buhari’s intervention, the Senate was ready to boot out Colonel Hameed Ali (rtd), the comptroller-general of customs.
The president, it was learnt, had further threatened to sacrifice any of his appointee who attempts to cause a friction between him and the National Assembly.
Hameed Ali reportedly ran to Saraki after Buhari's intervention
Vanguard reports that Buhari warned his appointees not to overheat the polity by creating avoidable friction between the executive and the legislature arms of government.
Ali later met with Saraki late Tuesday, March 14 after the latter had earlier written to the Senate that he would not be present at the Wednesday session to answer questions from the lawmakers.
At the time of this report, however, it was not known if Ali would now honour the invitation by the Senate.
The report said the meeting between Buhari, Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker Yakubu Dogara was called at the instance of the former who pleaded with the lawmakers and tried to see how to resolve the looming crisis.
According to the report, President Buhari was not comfortable with the language of some of his appointees and he particularly told the customs boss that whoever loves him will not at this point in time orchestrate any scuttle between the executive and the legislature.
This was why, sensing the danger from Buhari, Ali ran to Saraki and reportedly regretted not honouring the Senate’s invitation, saying he was bereaved.
Ali was summoned over a new policy that wants owners of cars in Nigeria to have custom duties and the senators wanted him to appear in the official uniform of the Nigerian Customs Service which he had never worn since taking up the appointment to head the parastatal.
Senate spokesperson, Abdullahi Sabi, had said: “The subject matter for which we are summoning is not dire but critical to Nigerians.
“We stand by the Nigerian people. The primary purpose of government is the welfare and security of Nigerians.
“Any policy that infringes on the welfare and security of Nigerians is not a policy. The Nigerian Customs is being run in a way that Nigerians will pay for their inefficiencies.
“You have done everything to buy a vehicle to give comfort to your family and somebody comes and tells you this – where is your customs duty?
“This is why the Senate is not in support of the policy. It’s anti-people.”
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