Industry Stakeholders Applaud ANLCA at 72nd Anniversary Celebration

BY EGUONO ODJEGBA

The Nigerian maritime industry on Tuesday effectively pressed the pause button as government officials, regulators, terminal operators, customs brokers, business leaders, royal fathers and other stakeholders converged at the Marriott Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, to celebrate the 72nd anniversary of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA).

The gathering became more than an anniversary ceremony as speaker after speaker paid tribute to the association’s enduring place in Nigeria’s trade and maritime economy, while also challenging it to prepare for a rapidly changing future shaped by technology, digital Customs, data-driven trade and the National Single Window.

Held under the theme, “ANLCA Celebrating a Legacy of Professionalism, Advancing Trade Facilitation and Shaping the Future of Customs Brokerage,” the event brought together the past, present and future of the association in an unusual display of industry solidarity.

From the Lagos State Government to terminal operators and the revenue authorities, the message was largely consistent: licensed customs agents remain indispensable to the efficient movement of legitimate cargo through Nigeria’s ports, airports and borders.

Representing the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Commissioner for Commerce, Corporate Trade and Investment, Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, described ANLCA’s 72-year journey as a remarkable milestone.

Sanwo-Olu recalled that the association was established in 1954, six years before Nigeria’s independence, noting that while the country, its economy and the business of international trade had undergone profound changes, ANLCA had remained an important component of the Customs and maritime ecosystem.

According to him, licensed customs agents perform a critical role in helping businesses navigate the complex processes involved in moving goods through ports, airports and land borders.

“When that work is done professionally and transparently, it helps businesses move faster, protects government revenue and gives traders greater confidence,” he said.

The governor stressed that the importance of efficient trade facilitation was particularly significant to Lagos, whose ports constitute major gateways to the Nigerian economy.

He noted that port efficiency goes beyond the maritime sector, as delays and inefficiencies ultimately affect businesses, consumers, jobs and the general cost of goods and services.

With Lagos expanding its maritime infrastructure, including the Lekki Deep Sea Port and other emerging opportunities, Sanwo-Olu said the state was looking towards a future in which Nigeria could handle greater volumes of trade and connect its businesses more effectively to the wider African market.

He welcomed the collaborative efforts of ANLCA and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to address congestion around the Apapa and Tin Can Island port corridors, stressing that port congestion was not merely a transport problem but one capable of imposing additional costs on businesses and delaying cargo movement.

The governor also commended ANLCA’s empowerment programmes and its attention to members who had served the association, observing that the strength of an organisation was measured not only by its achievements but also by how it treated its people.

He urged ANLCA to preserve the values that had sustained it for more than seven decades, particularly integrity and professionalism, while ensuring that younger members were adequately equipped to operate in an increasingly digital trading environment.

The governor assured the gathering that the Lagos State Government would continue to support an environment where legitimate businesses could operate, investment could grow and those contributing to the economy could prosper.

For the Chairperson of the Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN) and Executive Vice Chairman of ENL Consortium, Olori Vicky Haastrup, the place of ANLCA in the port system was beyond debate.

She described customs agents as indispensable partners to terminal operators and a critical pillar of trade facilitation across Nigeria’s seaports, airports and other trade corridors.

“Without ANLCA, we cannot function. Whether seaport, airport, wherever you have any ports, you are very key to our trade facilitation,” she said.

Olori Haastrup described the 72-year journey as a testament to endurance, readiness, professionalism and commitment to Nigeria’s maritime and trading community.

She congratulated ANLCA National President, Mr Kingsley Emenike Nwokeoji, and the National Executive for sustaining the association, stressing that efficient ports could only be achieved through collaboration among the various players in the supply chain.

According to her, customs agents remain at the heart of Nigeria’s port business because their professionalism, compliance and engagement with terminal operators and government agencies directly influence the speed and ease of cargo movement.

“For this reason, we regard ANLCA and its members as our partners in progress. We have enjoyed tremendous support and understanding from ANLCA,” she said.

Fondly referred to as the Queen of Hearts by industry players, Haastrup said the anniversary theme was particularly appropriate at a time when the maritime sector needed to eliminate avoidable delays, improve transparency, embrace technology, promote compliance and create an environment where legitimate trade could flourish.

She also commended the Federal Government for what she described as an enabling environment for business in the maritime sector.

Representing the Chairman of the Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS) , Dr Zacch Adedeji, the Director of the National Single Window (NSW) Project, Tola Fakolade, traced ANLCA’s evolution alongside the transformation of Nigeria’s ports and Customs processes.

From predominantly manual procedures to computerised systems and now integrated platforms, data-driven risk management and international trade agreements, Fakolade said ANLCA members had repeatedly adapted to changes in the trading environment.

At every stage, he noted, they had learnt new systems, trained their people and helped clients understand changing procedures.

“That capacity to change is the real secret of your longevity,” he said.

Fakolade described trade as one of the major engines of the Nigerian economy, supplying raw materials for factories, machinery for businesses, consumer goods and food, while providing the channel through which Nigerian exports reach international markets.

He also linked efficient trade to government revenue, noting that Customs duties and related levies contribute significantly to public finances.

“When trade flows smoothly and honestly, the country is stronger,” he said.

He observed that ANLCA members, through their work of preparing declarations, classifying goods, applying tariff rates and guiding traders through regulatory procedures, had remained at the centre of that economic flow for more than seven decades.

The Chairman of the occasion and former ANLCA President, Chief Peter Okocha, brought a touch of nostalgia to the celebration, declaring that clearing and forwarding remained a profession of which he was proud.

Okocha recalled that his professional journey began as a clearing and forwarding agent before his subsequent business exploits, including his acquisition of African Petroleum (AP).

He suggested that ANLCA might need to consider whether its name should evolve in line with the changing identities of some government institutions, citing the transformation of the Federal Inland Revenue Service into the Nigerian Revenue Service.

He also urged ANLCA members to continually remind institutions such as the Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigerian Ports Authority of the indispensable role played by licensed customs agents in the port system.

But beyond celebration and nostalgia, the association used the anniversary to place the challenges confronting Nigeria’s trade environment firmly on the national agenda.

Speaking earlier, ANLCA President Mr. Emenike Kingsley Nwokeoji declared that Nigeria could not aspire to become a global trading hub while the cost of moving cargo through its ports remained unnecessarily high.

He listed congestion, cargo examination, access roads, truck movement, storage, demurrage, detention, multiple regulatory interventions and fragmented processes among the challenges that continue to increase the cost of doing business.

“We must confront the persistent challenges of congestion, cargo examination, access roads, truck movement, storage, demurrage, detention, multiple regulatory interventions, and fragmented processes.

“Every unnecessary hour that a container spends in the port represents an additional cost. Ultimately, the Nigerian consumers bear that cost,” he said.

The ANLCA president called for a coordinated port reform strategy in which every agency, terminal operator and service provider would be measured against a common objective: the speed, transparency and efficiency with which legitimate cargo enters or leaves Nigeria.

“The port should serve as a gateway to economic prosperity, not a bottleneck to economic growth,” he said.

He also welcomed the National Single Window initiative, describing it as one of the most significant opportunities to transform Nigeria’s international trade environment.

For ANLCA, he said, the value of the Single Window would ultimately depend on whether it actually simplified trade rather than merely bringing multiple processes together under one digital platform.

Nwokeoji called for reduced documentation, elimination of duplication, greater transparency, minimal unnecessary human intervention and lower time and cost of doing business.

He urged government to institutionalise the participation of frontline stakeholders in the implementation process, arguing that those who operate the system daily understand its strengths, weaknesses and possible unintended consequences.

He said ANLCA supported the Federal Government’s continuing efforts to reform the economy, improve the business environment, increase revenue, promote non-oil exports, strengthen border security and modernise trade processes.

Chairman Board of Trustees, Alhaji Taiwo Mustapha, however, looked beyond the immediate challenges to the future of the association. He acknowledged that ANLCA, like every long-standing institution, had encountered policy changes, evolving Customs procedures, technological transformation, global economic disruptions and periods of internal disagreement.

But he said the association could not afford to remain exactly what it was seven decades ago.

“ANLCA of the next five, 10 and 20 years cannot operate exactly as ANLCA of the past seven decades. We must become professional, more digital, more knowledge/data-driven, and more compliant, so we could be globally competitive,” Mustapha said.

He therefore called for a stronger ANLCA voice in national trade and fiscal policy discussions, while urging members to build an association whose professionals are recognised for competence, integrity and professionalism.

He also emphasised continuous training, research, digital Customs automation and data-driven trade facilitation, warning that emerging technologies, particularly Artificial Intelligence, were already reshaping global commerce.

“Artificial Intelligence is no longer news. Not just coming. It is real, it is here. And the world will not wait for us,” he said.

Mustapha also urged stronger institutional relationships between ANLCA, the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Ports Authority, relevant government agencies, terminal operators, shipping companies, exporters and other participants in the supply and logistics chain.

The Vice President of ANLCA and Chairman of the Local Organising Committee, Prince Segun Oduntan, used his welcome address to reinforce the message of unity.

He declared that ANLCA belonged to all its members and stakeholders, urging members to continue supporting the association as it seeks to protect their interests, build capacity and strengthen the profession.

“As we celebrate today, let us continue to be one family always, let us continue to work together for peace, professionalism and progress of ANLCA and the maritime industry,” he said.

The highpoint of the celebration was the presentation of awards to distinguished stakeholders who have contributed to the development of the association and the wider maritime industry.

Among those honoured were retired Deputy Comptroller-General of Customs, Dera Nnadi mni; Olori Vicky Haastrup; and former ANLCA President, Chief Ernest Elochukwu, among others.

The anniversary also attracted the Deputy Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Mojisola Meranda; the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, represented by the Tin Can Island Area Controller, Comptroller Joseph Anani; former ANLCA President, Prince Olayiwola Shittu; members of the ANLCA Board; Registrar of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), Kingsley Igwe; former ANLCA Vice President, Dr Kayode Farinto; former Sole Administrator, Otunba Babatunde Mukaila; royal fathers and other leading stakeholders.

While the Queen of Shows, charismatic and cerebral master of ceremonies, Joyce Daniels and ace comedian, ‘Klint de Drunk’ provided entertainment at the ceremony, different cultural dancing troupes entertained the capacity filled conference hall.

Group photograph of stakeholders present at 72 anniversary celebration of Association of Nigerian

Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) on Tuesday