As the year 2019 gradually unfolds, the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has called on the federal government to focus attention in rehabilitating all the access roads to the ports which it said were all in very deplorable condition.
The National Vice President of the association, Dr. Kayode Farinto who made this call in an interview with our correspondent in Lagos on Friday said that government must as a matter of urgency fix the roads because they were losing money and human lives on a daily basis on those roads as a result of government’s negligence.
Farinto further said that federal government should equally pay close attention to rail development as according to him; the roads had been over stretched and over worked.
He said,” Even if the roads are reconstructed; we need the rail as a mode of transportation to help reduce the traffic on Apapa roads. People who have consignments that are done with it, can take delivery at Yaba, Oyingbo and may want to unstuff there and many of these consignments can be taken to Ikorodu if such consignments are going towards that axis. So, if the government can fix the roads, it is better for us”.
While calling attention to over time cargoes littering the ports in Lagos, the ANLCA chieftain harped on the need for the government to move those cargoes away from the ports to the government warehouse in Ikorodu in order to decongest the ports.
According to him,” Customs is deliberately shying away from this responsibility but we have made them to know that by the virtue of CEMA, unclear cargo list must be requested by the customs, generated by the terminal operators and customs will give the go ahead for the movement of these cargoes.
“But people are shifting blames like we have seen because as we said, the Controllers should tell us what they hiding, why they don’t want to compile unclear cargo list. Unfortunately, the last ACG, at the point of movement of these cargoes, was transferred. So, we are going to meet the new ACG, she is ready to work with us, to tell her that it is the responsibility of the customs to move uncleared cargoes to Ikorodu”.
He also called for consistent policies as it affects the maritime industry as there was none presently hence everybody does what he or she likes in the industry particularly government agencies.
“The government must come out with a roadmap and spell out what it wants for the industry. Above all, government should reduce tension on giving customs target. I have said it, it is not helping our industry, it is not healthy, leave customs to carry out their statutory function, they may even make more money than the target you are giving them unknowingly. But when you are giving them a target that is not reasonable, that is not realistic, it becomes imperative for them to make it by all means to meet this target.
“It is unfortunate the maritime industry is suffering like this. The indigenous ship owners are going into extinction meanwhile we have CVFF and we don’t know what has happened to that account, and this money has not been disbursed to the indigenous ship owners. I hope and I pray that this kind of money is not expended on election because it is going to give us a big setback. This fund should be disbursed to the indigenous ship owners who have met the criteria so that it will go a long way in creating employment for the younger Nigerians because if you have indigenous ship owners acquiring vessels, they will need to train people, they will need to employ people”, he said.
He however added that the stakeholders must be ready to put in their best to make sure that if the government was doing its responsibility, themselves as patriotic citizens must be seen to be doing the needful.
He continued,” It is becoming discouraging to talk about expectations from the government each new year in the maritime industry and we have never achieved any. It is very sad, it is very disheartening that government lackadaisically abandoned the industry yet the industry is generating lots of fund for her”.
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