Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has commended Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) for what it described as the good job the agency is doing in Nigeria.
ANLCA national president, Iju Tony Nwabunike, made the commendation in Lagos, weekend, when he led a team of the association to the SON director-general in his office in Lekki, Lagos.
Nwabunike said the SON director-general had, not only built on the foundation laid by his predecessor, but had set a pace for his successors.
He said the ANLCA visit would mark the opening of a new page in the relationship between the two organisations, adding it was also to draw the attention of the Federal Government towards certain issues of concern to the agents.
He listed these to include, clarification on the borderline products between the SON and the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control () on such products as diaper, engine oil, packing products and cotton buds, among others.
He also mentioned the issue of attendant delay in cargo clearance and documentation with Nigeria Customs Service occasioned by server breakdown.
Other issues he mentioned included clarification as to whether product certificate (PC) was still used as an ancillary document to SONCAP for cargo clearance, as well as the issue of the presence of multi-unit government agencies at the ports.
In his response, Osita Aboloma, the SON director-general, said the SON commended the ANLCA for the visit and the role it was playing the in the economy, adding that if the campaign against substandard products was to be successful, there was need for stakeholders to collaborate.
He said the SON was resolved to be just a regulator but a business facilitator supporting all key stakeholders in the economy, saying his office had taken note of the challenges itemised and would commit to finding a way of resolving them.
He said going forward, his agency would seek to reduce, as much as possible, human interference, and that was what informed the automation of its processes, and also promised to sustain the efforts aimed at reducing cargo waiting time before clearance.
