The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has said that it would no longer be business as usual for all the government agencies outside the Nigeria Customs Service who have the penchant for stopping the release of cargo at the ports without recourse to the Nigeria Customs Service.
Speaking at a news briefing in Lagos, the National Publicity Secretary (NPS) of ANLCA, Dr. Kayode Farintho hinted that he was going to employ the Munroe Declaration at the nation’s seaports saying that the association would not take it easy with any agency that was interfering with the customs job at the seaports, airports and land borders.
Farintho who was particular about the alleged recent activities of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at the ports however said that he was yet to be fully briefed about the development adding that he was going to take it up with the EFCC if the allegation was found to be true.
According to him,” I am just coming out from the ports and I was just informed that there is another security agency called EFCC stopping the release of cargo in the ports but I am still going to address that. I want to be fully briefed. What is the responsibility of EFCC? What are they doing in the ports? If they are in the seaports, they are not supposed to be seen but they can be heard”.
“If the EFCC is now stopping a cargo that is supposed to be examined, it is not part of their powers, they don’t have that power. If you notice anything even if it is money laundering, re-route it to the Nigeria Customs Service. Any security agency that must stop any cargo now can do it through the Nigeria Customs Service not, you now writing to the shipping companies, to terminal operators stopping examination of cargo”.
“I will be very frank, I will not take it very easy with any agency that is doing that and that is why I am going to declare the Munroe Declaration. Anybody that is treating my customs brokers in a way that sis uncivilized, stopping them unnecessarily, I am going to be very mad with that security agency”.
“But I am still studying the issue of the EFCC; I want to be fully briefed. I don’t know what their concern is; I don’t know what their interest is. How can EFCC come to the port and say that container should not be examined, they don’t have the power”.
