Customs Licensed Agents operating at the Apapa and Tin-Can Island ports have issued a 72-hour ultimatum to Hameed Ali, the comptroller general of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), to recall the duplicated Customs units involved in cargo clearance at the seaports or risk agents shutting the port operations next Monday.
At a joint press briefing held in Apapa on Thursday, by various associations including 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 (NCMDLCA), the agents said the management of Customs recently deployed a team from Abuja to checkmate activities of the various commands at the Western zone, which is slowing down cargo clearance.
The agents listed various units of Customs constituting bottlenecks inside the port to include CG Strike force; Compliance team; Federal Operations Unit (FOU); Monitoring; Special Force; CG taskforce; information team, among others.
The development, which spiked tension in the port, was the recent deployment of a special team from Abuja called CG taskforce to inspect third party cargoes at the port.
Speaking at the meeting, Segun Oduntan, Tin-Can chapter chairman of ANLCA, said the CG taskforce was sent to Apapa Port last week Thursday under the guise of inspecting some third party containers, adding that the team had taken over the job of resident Customs officers.
According to Oduntan, cargoes are now being detained inside the ports while agents and their importers are being made to pay exorbitant demurrage to shipping companies and storage rent to terminal operators.
He said the development had made 48-hour cargo clearance become a mirage.
Tanko Ibrahim, Western Zone coordinator of NAGAFF, said agents had complained to the Customs area controllers at the command level, who have appeared powerless and subsequently directed the operators to channel their complaints to the CG in Abuja.
“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, creating confusion. After cargoes have been released, they would ask you to reposition it for examination and we are made to pay for re-examination,” he said.
Azubuike Ekweozor, chairman of Tin-Can chapter of NAGAFF, 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 were supposed to return with the same number of empty containers but the vessels carry export to other countries without their empties.
On his part, Ndubuisi Uzoegbo, Apapa chapter chairman of NAGAFF, urged the Customs CG to build trust in his officers on the field, saying freight forwarders should be carried along by the Customs whenever they make policies affecting their operations.
“Many containers have been abandoned in Apapa because of high tariffs and demurrage from shipping companies. Most clearing offices in Apapa today are empty, shipping companies have forced many of our colleagues out of business and the action of Customs contributes to the delays that help to increase demurrage,” he said.
He called on Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to come and address all these issues, owing to the fact that he introduced Ease of Doing Business at ports.
