A member of the Association of the Direct Trade Input Operators’ in Nigerian Ports, Chief Emmanuel Nweke has debunked the claims that licensed customs agents were the ones who championed and got the commercial Direct Trade Input (DTI) cafe closed by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
Speaking to newsmen on the recent closure of the DTI cafe in Lagos, Nweke maintained that it was clear from inception tha one could get a DTI for his private use in his office as a licensed customs agent.
According to him, ” It wasn’t a new thing, from inception of creation of ASYCUDA, it has been made public that you can get a DTI. There are two systems, the public and the private. So, any person who has an office or the desire and wants to open a DTI in his office can apply for it. So, the case of them championing its closure, I don’t think so, that is not true because it has always been there”.
On the allegations by the licensed customs agents that their passwords were often stolen at the commercial DTI cafe by fraudsters to release jobs without their consent, he contended that one do not need a password to utilize his license explaining that the person that needed password was the DTI operator as was assigned to him by WEBB Fontaine.
He informed that it was only that password that could gain access to the system to be able to work on one’s bill of lading.
“ASYCUDA is beautifully crafted that if we want to do things right, it is our duty to do things right and if you get an officer who truly wants to do his job, once he gets it, he keeps it and tells you that you have not done what you are supposed to do and he gives you a DN to go and pay more.
“So, I want to repeat to you that you do not need a password as a licensed customs agent. They are only talking about their C-numbers and if you keep your C-number well, it actually remains with you. There should be a holistic check to what we are talking about”, he explained.
Chief Nweke lamented that the closure of commercial DTI cafe had affected them adversely even as he recalled that there was a standard set before one could open a DTI cafe adding that one cannot open up a DTI cafe without meeting those standards which he said can’t be less than ten million naira.
He said,” But that is not what it is today. So, minute by minute departure from the standard rule created by our association is also a problem. So, now tell me, how can we recover from the enormous investment we have put on ground to set up a formidable DTI cafe for maritime use? That is the problem.
“In offices where you see no less a graduate so that he could be very protective of himself and his certificate for who he is., of course, many will lose their jobs but beyond that, you will see all sorts of things in the system, it will create more problem. Can you give what you don’t have?”
He therefore requested the Nigeria Customs Service to call eminent personalities in the maritime industry to discuss the closure of the DTI café.
“Let me remind you that if vessels are coming in here either wet or dry cargo, you need trade input, you need this service, you need it in all aspects of shipping whether import or export. The federal ministry of finance needs it, the federal ministry of Budget and National Planning needs it, the National Bureau of Statistics needs it, the Nigeria Customs Service needs it and other arms that have to come into planning the nation in terms of business and economy.
“So, this is very important and I will plead with the government to see the importance of what we are doing before some individuals begin to do something to help themselves because it will become very difficult for the government. You don’t try to solve one problem and open another door for a more bigger problem to come in. The country is becoming more difficult for people”, he stated.
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