Ports are supposed to be equipped with state-of-the-art scanners. But in Nigeria, manual screening of cargoes is what obtains.
By Uzor Odigbo
The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) on Thursday, expressed dissatisfaction over the delay in the installation of the newly procured scanners in ports as an embarrassment.
The management of the Nigeria Customs Service had purchased scanners for Nigerian ports, but they have not been installed, leaving the nation’s maritime sector as the only country in the world where cargoes are subjected to manual examinations.
National President of ANLCA, Tony Iju Nwabunike, who stated this during a Port Industry Town Hall Meeting put together by The JournalNg, lamented that Nigeria is not ready to solve most of its challenges for obvious reasons noting that the expectations of ports concession have not been adequately met.
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According to him, smaller neighbouring countries have developed their ports, mainly for cargoes to be consumed by Nigerians, pointing out that the seaports are running without dependable ports procedures and have no roads to terminals in Lagos, Onne and others.
Nwabunike who was the pioneer Chairman, Council for the Regulations of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) described the nation’s seaports as the worst in the world.
“As a way of helping the government, which seems helpless in the face of obvious non-compliance across the board, private sector groups in the ports have established compliance teams and this point to our collective inadequacy.,” he said.
Speaking on the deplorable road condition, Nwabunike, who also chaired the Town Hall Meeting called on the Federal Government to declare the maritime industry as a national emergency where, during dry season construction work should be done 24 hours non-stop, especially on the Apapa- Oshodi axis.
“I don’t want to say our port system is about the worst in the maritime world. Sadly, that is what it is looking like in terms of shipping companies and customs operations,” he said.
The ANLCA President decried that “We are nowhere near our peers to maximize the benefits of our port system for this single African trade regime.
“The earlier we act fast, the better because, under this regime, countries will see themselves as rivals and competitors in certain economic fronts. Nigeria must not be caught sleeping.
“Nigeria is the only country I know in the world where cargoes are subjected to joint manual and very cumbersome examination process and as an importer or customs broker, you are subjected to multiple alerts by different customs units,” he said.
But in a swift reaction to Nwabunike’s claims, Comptroller, Tin Can Island Port Command, Nigeria Customs Service, MBA Musa explained that the scanners are being subjected to assessment tests, the reason behind the delay.
Comptroller Musa was represented by Deputy Comptroller, Kikelomo Adeola.
According to the Area Comptroller, the service has reaffirmed its commitment for smooth port operations adding that the scanners would soon commence operations once the assessment test is concluded.
The Customs boss disclosed that the service will also deploy drones to monitor the movement of cargoes within the ports.
Earlier, the Publisher of the JournalNg, Mallam Ismail Aniemu noted that the Town Hall Meeting was aimed at addressing challenges confronting the maritime industry.
The Town Hall Meeting has a theme “Towards Hitch Free Port Operations In Nigeria”