Adewale Adeniyi, the comptroller-general, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), has expressed optimism that the implementation of the Time Realise Study (TRS) would end delays in cargo clearance and achieve a 24-hour port operation.
Adeniyi said this in an interview with NAN on Monday in Lagos.
According to him, the TRS was aimed at improving port efficiency and competitiveness by identifying and eliminating obstacles in port operations.
He said it was imperative to understand the causes of delay in cargo clearing, pinpoint areas of delay, analyse the reasons behind them and implement effective solutions to streamline the process.
“We cannot reduce the time of clearing cargo if we do not know what is cursing it, and where it’s been delayed.
“First, we have to identify the cost; the areas where there are delays, understand the curse and then apply the right solutions to them.
“It will be my pleasure to clear cargoes from our ports in one day. We were doing it for two days before, so why can’t we do it for one day? That is what the TRS exercise is all about,” Adeniyi said.
The Customs boss noted that the TRS report was expected to be released within six months once all the systems were automated and integrated for effective operations.
He assured the public that the findings of the TRS would be made available to the government and stakeholders within the specified timeline.
He further emphasised the readiness of the Customs to propose necessary legal amendments to address any delays caused by existing laws.
Adeniyi said that the NCS invited the minister of finance, minister of industry, trade and investment, and minister of marine and blue economy during the launching of TRS, to enable them to address delay in cargo clearance.
“The purpose of consulting the three ministers and all the stakeholders, including banks, is to address all the bottlenecks hindering cargo clearance,” he said.
