One of the contenders to the office of the National President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) and Vice President of ANLCA, Mr. Emenike Nwokeoji has blamed the delay in procuring scanners for use at the nation’s seaports on bureaucracy and the interest of the National Assembly members in taking the contract to procure the scanners.
Nwokeoji who disclosed this when he took his campaign team on a familiarization visit to the Customs Area Controller of the Tincan Island command of the Nigeria Customs Service, Comptroller Musa Baba Abdullahi, said that but for the two reasons enumerated above, based on the recommendations of the a subcommittee on Single Window to the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, the scanners would have been in place.
Nwokeoji who is also a member of the subcommittee added that part of their recommendations was that the scanners should be managed by independent companies and their report warehoused so that as they were receiving cargo from vehicle, it would pass through the scanners, the stacking would show the result of the scanning.
According to him,” We will continue to encourage our members to attend the trainings that you organize for us. We need to improve on our ways of doing business; it cannot continue to be business as usual. Knowledge is power, if we are knowledgeable, it will make the job easier for you and it will make the business to flow. But when the declarations are not what they should be, it makes the job look cumbersome and human contacts will continue to grow even wider.
“I know that government is doing more to reduce human contact on the ease of doing business and considering your road, I think we should endeavor to embrace it here more where you can stay in the comfort of your office and do like 80% of the jobs.
“Just that the scanners are not working that we think that we should do manual but that committee for which I belong, a lot has been done. If not for government’s bureaucracy and the National Assembly too being interested in the contract for scanners, I know by now, based on our recommendation to the Vice President, the scanners would have been in place because we were able to receive a report in the last meeting that only one scanner was working in Nigeria around Seme. That is not good for us.
“Part of our recommendations is that the scanners, if possible, should be managed by independent companies and their report warehoused so that as they are receiving cargo from vehicle, it will pass through the scanners, the stacking will show the result of the scanning. I pray that we have enough space and the capacity too to implement all that is in the report so that it will be easier for you”.
On his aspiration, he observed that he had served his people well that they urged him to continue to render that service at this time at the level of the National President hence the reason he put himself forward for the election that would take place this Thursday.
“Meanwhile, what we are doing is to go round the chapters to sensitize our members, first, that the election should be rancor free. When you present yourself to the people, allow them to make the choice, if they choose you, right, if not you go back to your company and face your business and still remain a member of this association.
“We want to appreciate you and your officers because we have seen the harsh environment under which you operate. God willing, when we get there, there are levels that you officers in uniform can complain and you stop, there we can take it up with government. That’s where we work closely”, he assured.
Responding, the Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Musa Baba Abdullahi appreciated the team for finding it worthy to intimate the command of the forthcoming National Executive Committee (NECOM) election of the foremost licensed customs agents’ association even though the command had no voting power.
Musa described the licensed customs agents and customs officers as “one family” saying that a proper customs officer would naturally retire to be an agent or retire to be a businessman which according to him made them all one.
“So, what I will say is, may the natural leaders emerge as winners. Most of you are very experienced and you know what I have said, I don’t need to expand on it”, he added.
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