Contrary to the reports making the round that it has defied the federal government’s directive that it should be operating from outside the ports and be invited by the customs only when there is the need; the Standards Organization of Nigeria has come out to say that it has returned to the nation’s seaports.
The Director, Inspectorate and Compliance Directorate, SON, Engr. Bede Obayi who made the denial in an interview with Primetime Reporters in Lagos recalled that the federal government in 2011 directed some of its agencies SON inclusive to be operating from outside the ports and to be invited by the officials of the Nigeria Customs Service only when the need arose adding that that was the situation with the agency till date.
Obayi noted that contrary to insinuations in some quarters, SON has its Apapa office at No. 3 Burma Road, Apapa which is 3 minutes drive to the port from where it attends to those who requires its expertise advice even as he said that one cannot point to any container, boot or office inside the port and refer to it as SON’s office.
According to him,” First, SON has not returned to the port officially as against the directive of the Federal Government in 2011. You will recall that in October 2011, some agencies of the government were directed to be operating from outside the port and to be invited to the port when their services are needed. That is the statusquo and that is what it is today.
“SON got this office where we are operating, are we inside the port now? We are at No. 3 Burma Road, Apapa which is about three minutes away from the ports and so, when somebody comes here and says that our expertise advice is needed, we get in there, do the job and come out. You cannot get inside any port and see where we have our containers or boots or offices and they say, go to that office that that is SON’s office. Nobody will show you that in any of maritime offices”.
He further stated that SON had never constituted any cog in the wheel of progress of clearing at the ports since it was evidence that SON was not there contending that in all the problems stakeholders have been having all along, SON had not been at the port.
“SON comes in to do its job and gets away and that is what we have been doing since then till today”, he said.
He reminded the stakeholders that “Government did not say that SON has been scrapped; government says that SON among other agencies should operate from outside because of the security implications or the effects of substandard products and that is why SON should be involved. Instead of SON crying that it was not allowed to do its job because you know that over 90% of containers that come into this country come to the port and so, where is the procedure for inviting SON? Because that is the problem, if there is a procedure that before any container leaves the port, these agencies must sign that they have been invited, that will be monitored”.
The Director regretted that a lot of people today were taking their containers out of the ports without SON being part of it adding that it was only those that come around to say this is what they were having that it now see.
“Those who want to carry it out through fraudulent means, we would not know and so, the bulk of the containers are leaving the ports” he stated.
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