Freight Forwarders Commend Customs Efforts To Cut Checkpoints At Seme Border
By Roland Ekama
Barely seventy days since his deployment to the Seme Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, stakeholders within the border community have lauded efforts to reduce multiple checkpoints and the creation of a joint task force aimed at promoting trade facilitation along the Lagos–Abidjan corridor.
The stakeholders, primarily from the freight forwarding community, expressed satisfaction with the recent initiatives by the Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Wale Adenuga to bring together formal and informal actors to resolve issues surrounding multiple checkpoints along the road.
The various groups, including the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), and others, spoke at Seme border post on Tuesday in Lagos .
Speaking on behalf of the freight forwarders and licensed customs brokers, Secretary of ANLCA, Austine Nwosu, described Comptroller Adenuga as a transformative leader and an agent of change.
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Nwosu stated that since Comptroller Adenuga’s deployment to the Seme Area Command in September, cargo movement has been seamless, with 100% examination of commodities.
He noted that the current controller’s leadership aligns with the World Customs Organization’s focus on trade facilitation, which has contributed to a reduction in smuggling activities in the region.Nwosu, who also serves as Secretary of Institutional Relationship for the Federation of ECOWAS Licensed Customs Brokers Association, said the “B’ Odogwu” administration under Comptroller Adenuga has encouraged trade facilitation and honest declaration of consignments, making operations at the border post smoother.
He emphasized that cargo examination at the command is conducted jointly with other relevant authorities, with trucks laden with consignments examined collectively.
The ANLCA chieftain highlighted that “The establishment of a joint stakeholder meeting has yielded positive results because respective agents know when to intervene whenever necessary.”
Regarding the revenue profile of the command, Nwosu reiterated steady growth in government revenue generated through agent contributions via freight forwarding and cargo clearance at the border post.