The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has described as ill-conceived the temporary closure of the Tincan Island and the PTML Commands of the Nigeria Customs Service on Monday following the visit of the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd.)
Speaking in an interview with Primetime Reporters on the closure, the National Public Relations Officer of NAGAFF, Mr. Stanley Ezenga stated that a visit of this nature should not amount to an economic loss both for the nation and for the freight forwarders who battle to take delivery of their consignments on time to avoid paying demurrage.
According to him,” Actually, I am a direct recipient of that action. I have a job at Tincan that day and I didn’t get to know about that visit until when I got to the ports and I couldn’t do my job. Naturally, even though the visit was not publicized, even if it is, it is not good enough because the shipping companies don’t know that the CGC is there, the terminal operators they don’t know that the CG is there and you must give them their money as at when due, I mean the demurrages and the storage charges. That day that has been wasted, people are going to pay for it.
“If you have fleet of containers, you can imagine N12, 000.00 a day for about ten or twenty containers that you have for a day, you should know how much it is in terms of Naira. So, that closure actually was ill-conceived because personally like I said before, I encountered it that day and I know how much I lost. A visit that nature, he was going to visit LADOL at Snake island or so, he was coming with his retinue of DCGs and ACGs, I think the commands should have been allowed to do their work because it is only the CACs that will accompany him leaving the DCs at the commands. That shouldn’t stop them from working because even if they left with the CG, they have ACs who have passwords to authorize release of cargo. Those ones should have been allowed to do their work alongside those ones that go for examination”.
While noting that the Jonathan’s government was voted out of power on account of impunity, he quickly described this development greater impunity, adding that the closure was a big slap on the faces of Nigerians.
“And when we talk of the economy of the nation vis-à-vis the Nigeria Customs, personally, I think it is a very big slap on the faces of Nigerians as far as that day was concerned”, he said.
He however observed that the CGC should be blamed for this development as he was in a better position to call his officers to order even if they were over-zealous in their duty as to impress him saying that they had a duty to perform and that duty to the nation overrides every other interest they may be protecting.
He continued,” For me, I don’t see the reason why all of them should be there but the head should be held responsible”.
On whether this was the first time they experienced an action such as this, he has this to say,” Well, of course, I am very sure any time CG comes from Abuja to Lagos, work literary grounds to a halt. This is not the first time it has happened. When Dikko was there, any time he is in Lagos, you hardly get 100% delivery when the CG is in Lagos. So, it has been happening only that this one was at the height of it all”.
The NAGAFF spokesman thumbed down the CGC on account of not meeting with the freight forwarders during the visit saying that the development was capable of breeding speculation and suspicion which would not be to his advantage.
“So, if he comes and goes without relating the purpose of his visit and then his finding, it now leaves room for people to speculate and begin to peddle false rumours. That is exactly what this visit has done”, he stated.
Reacting in a telephone interview, the National Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Customs Service, Mr. Wale Adeniyi stated that the CGC spent only about 30 minutes at both the PTML and Five Star Logistics terminals adding that the meeting he held with the terminal operators lasted for only about one hour wondering how that could brought the activities of the two commands to a standstill.
“In PTML and Five Star logistics, he spent only about 30 minutes and the meeting he held with the operators was held in Tincan, it was also for about one hour. So, don’t see how that will put anything to a standstill. He didn’t get there until around 2.o’clock in the afternoon, he had other engagements.
So, I am sure there must have been some other reasons if things were on standstill. We saw agents; they were doing their jobs in the terminals that we visited. We saw them pushing cars out and so, I think you got that information wrong”, he said.
When reminded that the agents our correspondent met at the gates of the two customs commands were complaining that they were shut out since morning, he added,” Okay, you have their complains, I have given you our perspective, the choice is yours, the interpretation is yours and yours”.
The customs spokesman disclosed that the Comptroller-General did not meet with freight forwarders and some other stakeholders because there was no plan for him to meet with them adding that they had to plan it and schedule it before that could happen.
“He wouldn’t just meet because people were there; there were people everywhere we went. He wouldn’t just begin to meet with everybody that lined up there. He did not, we fixed some specific meetings based on the issue he came to address”, he added.
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