‘Poor Port Banking Services Affected B’Odogwu’s Performance’- , Nwokeoji

 …Says FEC Should Be Blamed For Customs V Webb Fontaine Cold War

BY EGUONO ODJEGBA

Despite its prior concerns at the approach of the last Christmas and New Year festivities, the leadership of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has applauded minders of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) B’ Odogwu  application  for their resilience and commitment to firmly establish B’Odogwu in the global customs map.

The ANLCA National President, Kingsley Emenike Nwokeoji who was responding to questions about the level of sensitization and cooperation B’Odogwu has enjoyed from the association and its members, plus his present assessment of the new platform , noted that that much gaps have been covered  and that B’Odogwu is presently up and doing.

Nwokeoji howewer accused the nation’s maritime media of bias and lack of objectivity in balancing its task, while lamenting perceived poor specialized banking services put in place to drive the new application.

“As a journalist, we spoke with you and stated our position about our observation and experience in the port though one of our officials. Then the next moment, customs gathered you people and told you their position, and you used their position to override our own.

“Elsewhere, it is expected that journalists will move into the port to have on the spot experience of the complaints, l am not teaching you your job, but investigative reporting adopt various methods to get the job done through watching, seeing and interactions, on the spot. That is how journalists get the facts of issues but you people did not do that. You particularly towed the line of customs to say yes, everything is working.

“What do we stand to benefit if the system is working fine and we come to complain? Whatever it is, our own is to capture, whether it is under B’ Odogwu or it is under NICIS, there is no way ownership or name will benefit the average agent other than what will ease our operation. If things are moving well what is our business, our own is to capture, take delivery and move on; we don’t care whether it is Mr. A or Mr. B that is running the machine. For us to complain means something was wrong, a lot of traders lost money because this was happening at the peak of the Christmas sales.

“Assuming somebody imported Christmas decorations, stuffs that has to do with Christmas like Christmas hats, cards, trees, lightening you see in traffic, and he is unable to take delivery before Christmas…that container will just go to the warehouse, lock it up until the end of 2025. So that was why we were crying, and that morning, my blood pressure rose, l was in the bank.

“There is no way you can start selling  Christmas goods after Christmas, talk less of bringing it out in January. Have you seen the implication? And some people somewhere were saying that we were not telling the truth.”

He said unless the Nigeria Customs begin to relate with clearing agents completely and purposefully, gaps will continued to be created that will result differences and misunderstandings.

“You talked about sensitization; they (Nigeria Customs Service) were more on that, like l said there are so many areas they look down on us. Let them carry us along, even in planning. So that perchance it fails, we will not raise any voice because we were part of it from the foundation. But when you don’t put us into consideration…and we are the one on ground, the one that will access, and you think that we mean nothing? “And when you observe it…because the importer will not call customs, they will call us, and by the time you have said all the truth there is to say, everybody is seeing you nonetheless as a liar. The good thing is that they took the right decision of starting from PTML which is a small port, that was why it was within manageable limit.

“But kudos to the B’ Odogwu Team, they have been on ground doing a whole lot, l was at the customs headquarters last week, as at then eleven banks have keyed in. When we raised the alarm only five banks were connected, even the five banks, some of them do not even know what to do. So another issue is with the bank, you will train people in a particular specialization or department in international trade in the bank, and before you know it they move them out and bring in new officials who have no understanding of the system, to the extent so many of these bankers in the port desk are been taught by our people.

“They don’t even know what to do because the system is new to them, no proper orientation of what they are asked to come and do.   Port operation banking is a specialized operation not same as processing loans and collecting deposits, so it was part of the issue.

“But like l said, as  at last week, eleven banks have keyed in, the situation is much, much better, l don’t think there is any job l can say is having issues in this regard or connected to the introduction of Odogwu.”

Reacting to reports about the fight that ensued between the Nigeria Customs and Webb Fontaine at the launch of B’Odogwu concerning the latter’s decision to prevent Customs from using its infrastructure a move that suggest a sit tight even after its contract has expired, Nwokeoji  said the federal executive council which awarded the contract should be blamed.

“I don’t want to go into their internal issues between Webb Fontaine and Nigeria Customs Service. Personally, l don’t think that it is the fault of Web Fontaine or the fault of the Nigeria Customs but it is the fault of the FG that awarded a contract and did not spell out the conditions and make clear the transition mode and schedule.

“If your contract is 25 years, from so, so date to this date, you need to prepare the people you’re going to handover to.  They left it open ended, so that the two of them were trying to run side by side, doing the same job. And this other people are feeling like if you don’t want me why do you still want to use my facility, go get your own; they switched off their own. That was what happened.”