By Uzor Odigbo
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has called for urgent reforms for the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), as it acussed the service of frustrating trade at seaport.
The chamber made the appeal on Monday in a statement by its Director General, Dr Muda Yusuf.
He premised the call on what he described as challenging Customs processes and procedures for clearance of cargo at the port.
He said, “Customs processes and procedures for the clearance of cargo at the ports is one of the biggest challenges currently faced by the business community. It is severely hurting investors and adversely affecting economic recovery efforts.
“The situation calls for urgent intervention and reforms of the Nigerian Customs service. There are issues of undue delays, weak application of technology, arbitrariness in valuation, impunity, uncertainty of international trade transactions, cost escalation, negative investment climate perception, ineffective mode of seeking redress, pervasive human interface, among others.”
According to Yusuf, the business community is compelled to interface with too many units of the Nigerian Customs service and other government agencies which makes doing business extremely difficult and frustrating.
