Freight Forwarders Want Presidency To Caution Customs Boss Over New Directive

Freight forwarders and licensed customs agents have condemned directive of the Comptroller General, Nigeria Customs Service, Hameed Ali to allow his Strike Force Team partake in examination of cargoes at the seaports.

 

The operators called on the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo to caution the customs boss as the directive negates the 24 hours ease of doing business at the seaports.

 

The new order, according to some stakeholders pose serious hindrance to trade facilitation and free flow of trade as championed by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and World Customs Organisation (WCO) of which Nigeria Customs is a signatory.

 

According to them, such directive introduced by the service would hamper trade facilitation, lead to congestion and bottlenecks at the ports.

 

Recall that management of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) over the weekend directed its Strike Force team, an anti- smuggling unit of the Customs set up by the Comptroller General in the ports to examine goods which are not properly examined by the ports resident officers and that the Customs Area Controllers will be held responsible for any non- compliance of the new order.

 

The new directive was contained in a circular EII/2019/CIRCULAR NUMBER 002, titled “100% Examination of Cargo at the Ports”.

 

The circular which was issued on the 25th of April 2019 and signed by Deputy Comptroller General A. Chidi, DCG (E,I&I) on behalf of the Comptroller General reads:“It has been observed that 100% examinations of Cargo at the ports are not done properly by the officers assigned to do so.

 

“Consequently, the following instructions must be carried out with immediate effect and Area Controllers will personally be held responsible for non compliance.

 

“Henceforth,every Area Controller must respond accordingly to Strike Force intervention Alerts.

 

“The Strike Force team has been authorised henceforth to intervene right in the ports .

 

“Non compliance to this circular will attract severe sanctions ” It concluded.

 

While reacting to the directive by the customs boss over the weekend, in an exclusive chat , Chairman, Association of Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (AREFFN), Apapa Chapter, Mr. Jones Idemili maintained that the directive by the customs boss can best be described as the “height of incompetence” from the retired military chief.

 

Idemili expressed dissatisfaction over the directive calling on the Vice President to caution the customs boss to revert such order.

 

“In every command, a CAC is in charge and if there is any information the CGC needs he will call on the area controller for any action to be taken.

 

“If Hameed Ali does not understand what it takes to be CGC he should consult those that were there before because this directive is uncalled for and it is not proper.

 

According to him, the examination bays at the terminals have been flooded by multiple government agencies adding that with the new directive in place, there are possibilities of congestion at the seaports.

 

He further lamented that involvement of the strike force team would lead to delay in the clearance of cargoes.

 

Similarly, Chairman, Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Apapa Chapter, Dom Onyeka advised the CG of customs to replace the officers at the ports with officials of the strike force team, if not satisfied with the performance of the resident officers.

 

He suggested that officers at the ports would have been replaced with the strike force team.

 

The chairman lamented that the process would lead to delay in the clearance of cargoes from the ports, adding that consignment can spend additional days at the ports before proper clearance can be effected.

 

Onyeka stressed “If somebody says that his house is not in order then it is left for him to decide what he wants to achieve.

 

“The strike force team are customs officers likewise those at the seaports , so therefore if it pleases him to replace the officers at the ports then fine and good. Its a simple logic but its duplication and function .

 

It could be recalled that the CG has deployed the Strike Force inside the ports in the last three weeks to involve in examination of cargoes.

 

This has attracted huge cries from agents and their importers who have threaten to down tools in the ports.

 

 

But their threat has been heightened by the Customs boss who has officially confirmed the Strike Force presence in the ports with this circular.

 

Our Correspondent who sighted the circular yesterday also heard resident customs officers and agents discussing on the matter.

 

Resident officers are afraid that their functions have been taken over by the Strike Force, while agents and importers are scared of their faith in the new customs cargoes examination order.