According to a report by The Nation, the Nigerian Customs Services (NCS) has threatened to sack overweight officials.
Its Comptroller-General, Col. Hameed Ali (retd) gave the warning during the Nigerian Customs Command and Staff College graduation ceremony for its junior course in Abuja yesterday.
He advised some overweight officers of the service to get back in shape or risk losing their jobs.
Ali said: “We are going to put in place a weight level. If you go beyond a certain weight level, you will be put on probation.
“If you cannot cope, we will probably get you out. Obesity should not be part of us; that is why we are called paramilitary.”
The customs boss also urged officers who are yet to key into the reformation going on in the service to do so immediately.
“Today, we have been able to place customs on a high pedestal. People respect customs, not because of anything, but because we are beginning to change the way we do business.
“We are not asking for bribe anymore, although it’s still going on, but not in many places. Also, we are not living flamboyantly,” he said.
A total of 40 junior officers graduated with nine being female.
He urged the junior officers to align themselves with the content of the manual of service because it will improve the standard of communications in the service.
Ali also called for more capacity building as a key to repositioning the custom service to function as a modern custom organization.
The college commandant, ACG Eporwei Edike, said the college will continue to produce officers who will make a difference in the ongoing effort to reform the service.