Former Customs Comptroller-General, Abdullahi Dikko, Is Dead

A former Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Abdullahi Dikko, is dead.

Dikko, who hails from Katsina State, died after battling an unknown illness.

The former Customs boss, who enjoyed a long stay in office; was mired in a corruption saga at the end of his tenure. He had been arraigned over an alleged N1.1bn corruption allegation. In 2020, a Federal High Court in Abuja lampooned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over the trial of Dikko.

The trial judge, Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu declared that the ICPC was not serious in handling of the matter.

Dikko was arraigned alongside two other defendants. They are Garba Makarfi, ex-Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs (Finance, Administration and Technical Services); as well as Umar Hussaini, a lawyer and owner of Capital Law.

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Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), says Nigeria has exited the recent recession it plunged into; as GDP grew by 0.11 per cent in Quarter Four (Q4) 2020 from the 6.11 per cent contraction in Q3, signaling a gradual recovery from recession.

The NBS disclosed this in the Nigerian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Report (Q4 and Full Year 2020); released on its website on Thursday in Abuja.

Equally important, the GDP growth represented the first positive quarterly growth in the last three quarters.

“Though weak, the positive growth reflects the gradual return of economic activities following the easing of restricted movements and limited local and international commercial activities in the preceding quarters.

“As a result, while the Q4 2020 growth rate was lower than growth rate recorded the previous year by –2.44 per cent; it was higher by 3.74 per cent compared to Q3 2020. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, real GDP growth was 9.68 per cent; indicating a second positive consecutive quarter-on-quarter real growth rate in 2020, after two negative quarters.’’

Further, annual growth of real GDP in Nigeria was estimated at –1.92 per cent; a decline of –4.20 per cent when compared to the 2.27 per cent recorded in 2019. Also, aggregate GDP stood at N43.564 billion in nominal terms.

Photo  Credit: Getty

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