ANLCA Thumbs Up TCIP Customs On Night Operations

BY FUNMI ALUKO

The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has declared support for the Tin Can Island Command of the Nigeria Customs Service over its recent commencement of night scanning of containers and weekend operations.

L-R Prince Oduntan, Compt. Nnadi and Mr. Anifowose, ANLCA Western Coordinator during the visit

The Vice President of ANLCA, Prince Segun Oduntan and some national officers who visited the command for on the spot assessment of the new development expressed satisfaction and pledged the support of the association.

While been conducted around to have a feel of the reality, Oduntan  applauded the Customs Area Controller, Compt Dera Nnadi mni for the effort of the command, even as he further pledged to rally members of the association to embrace the 24hours operation.

Areas inspected by the ANLCA Vice President included the Enforcement unit, Cargo Releasing department, Scanning site, Ashaye and Tin Can 2nd gate exits where customs officers were seen, busy working.

The scanning machine in operation at the pilot operational trial

He lamented that due to the forthcoming yuletide and the attendant gridlock within the Tin Can Port corridor, there has been  hike in haulage charges; noting that the 24hours operation will help tom address some of those problems.

“We are going to talk to our members that there’s a new solution that is in town. I hear that part of the complaint against Customs night operations is that our people are not coming. There was an era where our members suffer a lot to bring out trucks from this port, that era is gradually returning.

“Now, due to the NPA Eto Call-Up racketeering, the cost of haulage has increased, the haulage cost that came down as low as N250,000 and N300,000 has now increased to N800,000 and N1.2million. ANLCA being the foremost association, we are ready to buy into this and give assistance to the Tin Can Island command. You are starting this now, and you are like in the pilot phase, definitely, all others will follow suit,” Oduntan said.

Responding, the Tin Can customs area controller explained that under normal circumstances, the ports are supposed to operate 24hours as is the practice world wide.

“The world does not sleep. When they’re sleeping in Nigeria, somebody in China is not sleeping and is loading containers. When China is sleeping, Europe and America is awake loading containers. So it behooves on us to also be awake 24 hours to receive and to exit these containers.

“In Nigeria, ship side operation is 24 hours. Certain aspects of the ship side operation are 24 hours, certain aspects of custom work like enforcement and gate operation is 24 hours. Boarding and remodeling is 24 hours. But the nation has not or is yet to attain the level where basic operations like delivery of import loading cargo is achieved in the night.

“So we come to work by 8 o’clock in the morning, and like basic civil servants by 5, 6 in the evening, everybody is going home. We had to scan containers in the night, rather than close offices, usually by 4.30 or 5.30 time, we need to extend it to 8 p.m. in the night. We tried that and it worked, so we decided to extend it further.

Compt Nnadi displays the long list of ships discharging at Tin Can Port to the ANLCA Vice President

“The first day we started, we scanned 56 containers. We said well,  since it worked, we scanned up till 2 am before we stopped. Now, let us those who enforce delivery of cargo outside the port work overnight too. We have started it, and it is working.”

He continued: “We also introduced weekend operation. I issued a port order where I said that the Owanbe mentality around the port environment should stop…officers and freight forwarders and indeed all port operators should come to work on Saturdays and Sundays to help ease condition in the port.

“If you don’t come to work Saturdays and Sundays shipping companies and terminal operators would collect their money, they collect their due money, there is no exemption for weekends”

Nnadi explained that the customs command and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) had met to discuss the prospect of the night operations, and informed that NPA agreed to provide light for the entire port environment.

“I called a meeting of the port manager, Tin Can Island Port with TICT Terminal and Five Star Logistics Terminal, we held the meeting just yesterday and I got the commitment of NPA that they will mention it to their Managing Director and to the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy to illuminate the port.

Prince Oduntan (right) interacting with Compt Nnadi on the new development in his office

“According to them, the entire port environment will be illuminated, it will not just end within the port corridor alone, the entire perimeter of the port corridor too will be illuminated. Then we also agreed in that meeting that security will be provided from the port here, from the first gate up to Mile 2. Security will also be provided from the second gate up to the Ijora axis.

“Part of what we also agreed was that the markets around the port environment should be streamlined, not to constitute nuisance, but to be part of the port community that will add value. It was a very honest meeting where all of us agreed that the achievement of 24 hours port operation outside ship side operation is achievable.

“Sadly, no single clearing agent was around to join us. Yes, my officers were complaining that the exercise may not work, that it may not be actualized because agents are not coming. If we give up now, they will also give up.

“We will continue until the clearing agents themselves and other stakeholders embrace the concept. So I am using this opportunity to appeal through ANLCA to the freight forwarders and the agents to join us in the night operation, to also join us in the weekend operation.”

Speaking further on the development, he said, “The night operation is particularly important, particularly at Ashaye Gate because every night, trucks are loaded but they cannot go out, when they get to the gate, they park.

“In the morning when I go out there to confront the drivers, they will tell me that the agent was not here to pass them. When I ask the agent, they say that they are afraid to exit the port in the night because the port corridor is not safe. Of course it is true. There have been cases in the past when containers were broached atop the bridges as they are going to owners’ warehouses.

“However, since NPA and the minister are already in discussions on how to provide security along the corridor, I hope that the situation will become a thing of the past.  On our own part, going by what we did at the scanning site…we made arrangements for food vendors. Bearing in mind that those that work there in the night will have to eat if they are hungry, we have spoken to our medical unit to be on standby at the scanning site.

“Just like we succeeded with the barge operation when I wrote the first memo reinventing batch operation in the port, I hope we will also succeed”, the area customs boss said.