The Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs in-charge of Zone A, Lagos, ACG Charles Edike has promised that the now deserted Kirikiri Lighter Terminal (KLT) and the Lillypond Terminal, all in Lagos State due to cargo drought will soon be revived and put to full utilization.
Edike who made this disclosure in Lagos yesterday when he paid a courtesy visit to the National Secretariat of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) stated that having pioneered the stemming of cargoes to most terminals in the Zone when he was the Customs Area Controller (CAC) at Apapa, he was set to ensure steady stemming of cargoes to those terminal.
He urged all agents to always speak up against injustice and resist intimidations emphasizing though, that those who come to equity must come with clean hands as according to him, those offended, therefore, must stop at nothing to get justice.
Having been CAC in several commands in Lagos and in some sensitive Customs units, like valuation, he advised agents to always be sure of their declarations and to confront any officer who tries to intimidate them in the course of delivering their jobs.
On touting at the ports, the ACG directed that such should be tabled before the CACs for resolution adding that it fails; his office should be approached thereafter, for him to wade in.
He pleaded that with the current federal dispensation, transparency in the business of declarations and cargo clearance must be done on the table with all cards placed face up saying that there were no more underhand dealings.
He said that he always wished for prosperity of all stakeholders as long as everything was done in the open and transparently.
The ACG said that licenses were usually blocked, after all efforts to locate owners have failed urging that all addresses of licenses must be current and traceable.
Edike, therefore commended ANLCA and its leadership for the sustained cooperation with the Nigeria Customs Service over the years, hoping that the focus on Customs by the Federal Government of Nigeria, for more revenue, should be collectively achieved stating that with God and hard work, the revenue target would be surpassed.
He further thanked members of ANLCA for all the support he had received throughout all his postings, urging it to be sustained, especially now that he had a larger responsibility.
Also speaking, the Officer in-charge of Information Communication Technology (ICT), Deputy Comptroller Yusuf Abacha while corroborating the views of Edike informed ANLCA that, very soon Customs would be migrating to ASYCUDA world, which would enable the issuance of pass worded Customs licenses.
Earlier, issues like an urgent need to decentralize the issuance/renewal of licenses from Abuja headquarters to the operational Zones, in the spirit of the new dispensation of making the zones to be effectively in control of the commands; blocking of licenses without firstly recourse to the owners; the menace of camp boys/touts in the ports; intimidation of the agents by especially Customs officers/security agencies; request for sponsoring of agents’ training and retraining; double standard displayed in the issuance of value of vehicles by valuation units; a plea for stemming of containers to lilypond and KLT commands and an appeal to customs to assist in protecting customs licenses from fraudulent use dominated the discussion as different speakers including the Zonal Coordinator Western Zone of ANLCA, Sir John Offorbuike and some chapter Chairmen took turn to address issues.
Speaking earlier, the National President of ANLCA, while thanking the ACG and his entourage for the visit, once more reminded that ANLCA, as a member of the World Customs Brokers Organization, was about being designated the regional headquarters of IFCBA for West Africa.
This he stated would entail the attendance of the meeting scheduled for Cotonou in Benin Republic, and logistics assistance would be required adding that Customs, as a body would be appealed to, so as to assist members’ attendance, an appeal the ACG said, would be looked into, with a view to attract the International Organization to Nigeria.
Shittu further requested for two Customs officers to accompany ANLCA to Ghana to understudy how Ghana has been able to enhance revenue collection by blocking leakages.
The President informed the ACG to expect many more complaints to be forwarded to his office in due course, as not all the complaints could be tabled before him during this his visit.
Highlight of the visit was an award by the ACG to the National President of ANLCA, Prince Olayiwola Shittu in recognition of his contributions to the sustenance of peace in the ports, thereby engendering the maximum collectible revenue for the Federal Government of Nigeria.
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