Following the recent directive from the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ali (rtd.) to stop the use of barges to evacuate cargoes from the seaports with immediate effect, the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has said that a high powered team from the association would visit the Zonal Coordinator Zone A of the NCS to register its protest and displeasure over “this wicked policy.”
The National President of ANLCA, Chief Iju Tony Nwabunike who made this declaration in a statement he issued in Lagos on Sunday in reaction to the ban also said that the association’s leadership would dispatch a letter to the Customs CG latest by today (Monday) to seek the reversal of “this trade frustrating policy.”
While noting that the circular banning the use of barges to evacuate containers to and from the nation’s seaports with immediate effect came to the association as a surprise, he however assured that ANLCA as a group of customs brokers would do everything possible to see to friendly trade policies that would attract investors to the nation’s ports.
According to him, more surprising was the fact that the Comptroller General of Customs preached trade facilitation and Ease of Doing business, should not be the one taking hasty decisions that would not only aggravate the current suffering of stakeholders, but also impede on efforts of other government agencies like the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) among others in finding a lasting solution to easy movement of goods through the waterways as well as to save the roads which were already in deplorable state.
He said, “We in the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) are strongly opposed to this position and called on the Customs boss to address the matter through consultations and dialogue with all stakeholders in the industry.
“We in ANLCA, however suggests the following steps to be taken by the Customs CG to address the situation: that the Customs CG should visit Lagos ports to see things for himself, that the Customs CG should hold a critical stakeholders meeting to address the Issue and that the Customs CG should hold talks with MD of NPA, NSC and NIWA on how to manage the situation.
“On our part, a high powered team from ANLCA will visit the Zonal Coordinator of Zone, ‘A’ of the NCS to register our protest and displeasure on this wicked policy.
“Also, the ANLCA leadership will dispatch a letter to the Customs CG latest by tomorrow (today) to seek the reversal of this trade frustrating policy.
“We want to also assure the Customs leadership that ANLCA as a group of Customs Brokers will do everything possible to see to friendly trade policies that will attract investors to our ports.”
Photo: ANLCA National President, Chief Iju Tony Nwabunike.
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