Vincent Toritseju
Lagos — There is an imminent disruption of activities at the Lagos ports as angry freight forwarders operating in the Western Zone has issued a 72-hour ultimatum to the Federal Government to call the Comptroller General of Customs, Col Hameed Ali to order and address the multiplicity of Customs task forces at the ports.
They threatened that if the situation is not reversed by next week Monday, the freight forwarders in the western zone will withdraw their services.
At a joint press briefing held in Apapa yesterday, various associations which include Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents, ANLCA, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, NAGAFF, and National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, lamented that the customs boss had allegedly deployed a team from Abuja to checkmate activities of the various commands.
The freight forwarders identified ten various units of customs constituting bottlenecks inside the port, some of them include; CG Strike force, compliance team, Federal Operations Unit, Monitoring, Special Force, CG task force, information team, customs police, among others.
The latest development which spiked tension in the port was the recent deployment of a special team from Abuja to inspect third party cargoes at the port.
Speaking at the meeting, Tin Can Chapter Chairman of ANLCA, Prince Segun Oduntan said the CG committee was sent to Apapa port last week Thursday under the guise of inspecting some third party containers.
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He, however, said that the team has taken over the job of resident customs officers.
He claimed that cargoes are now being detained inside the ports while agents are made to pay exorbitant demurrage to terminal operators, while stressing that 24 -hour cargo clearance is now a mirage, as a result of this anomaly.
Also speaking, Western Zone Coordinator of NAGAFF, Alhaji Tanko Ibrahim said that agents have complained to the customs area controllers who appeared powerless and subsequently directed the operators to channel their complaints to the CG in Abuja.
Tanko alleged that “Last week, we saw officers from Abuja who said they were sent to the terminals to inspect some third party containers. But since then, they have remained permanent inside the port”.
“They now randomly select ‘C’ numbers of containers and after cargoes have been released, they would ask you to reposition it for examination and we are made to pay for re-examination.”
Also speaking, Chairman of Tin Can chapter of NAGAFF, Azubuike Ekweozor lamented the activities of shipping companies and terminal operators in addition to the excesses of Customs.
He complained that vessels coming into Nigeria to discharge containers are supposed to return with the same number of empty containers but that rather than obey this law, the vessels carry export to other countries.
On his part, Apapa chapter chairman of NAGAFF, Ndubuisi Uzoegbo urged the customs CG to build trust in his officers on the field. He also said that freight forwarders should be carried along by the customs whenever they make policies affecting their operations.
He said, “Many containers have been abandoned in Apapa because of high tariffs and demurrage from Shipping companies and terminal operators, most offices in Apapa today are empty, shipping companies have forced many of our colleagues back to the village”.
“The Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo should come over and address all these issues, he is the one in charge of Ease of Doing Business, when Okonjo Iweala was there as coordinating minister, she came to the port on physical inspection and she addressed us”
In his reaction, the Spokesman of the Nigeria Customs Service, Mr. Joseph Atta said that it is in the powers of the management of the Nigeria Customs Service to adopt strategies to that deals with challenges of our time.
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Atta said that the Customs Service will no way jeopardize the efforts of government in repositioning the Nigerian maritime industry adding that the agency will rather support such efforts.
He said “The decision of management is in line with the provision of the Customs Management Act.
“However, in line with the Federal Government initiatives on Ease of Doing Business, the Comptroller General has dissolved all checkpoints and they are restricted to 40-kilometres radius to the border in order to deal with non-compliance international trade actors who may choose to follow unapproved route, falsify, their declaration and compromise officers of the Service.
