The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has said that it will soon launch Operation Rewire in the maritime industry as its policy direction in the year 2016.
The National Publicity Secretary of ANLCA, Dr. Kayode Farinto who disclosed this in an exclusive interview with Primetime Reporters in Lagos on the activities lined up for members of the association this year, explained that by Operation Rewire, ANLCA was to ensure that where its members were having operational challenges, it would intervene and where such challenge could not be solved at the command level would be taken to the Customs headquarters at Abuja for solution.
Farinto noted that ANLCA members would be greatly empowered this year in the area of capacity building for members adding that the association had sanitized its electoral process as was evidenced in the last election held in the association.
“We will be having our NECOM meeting monthly, first Wednesday of the month. Secondly, ANLCA will be having Operation Rewire this year. Operational Rewire is to make sure that where our members are having operational challenges, we will quickly come into it, the ones that cannot be solved at the command level; we take it to the CGC and many other issues.
“Then, we are going to make sure that our members are going to be more empowered this year in terms of training. We have a lot of issues in the pipeline. We have sanitized our electoral process where if you don’t have a license, you cannot contest. You recall that in the last election, somebody was disqualified for using the NAGAFF President’s license, that is Eugene. Somebody wanted to vote with and we said no, you are not a member of ANLCA except the owner of the license will write that he is leaving NAGAFF. So, we are putting a lot of sanity in the system”, he stated.
On his assessment of the maritime industry in the last one year, he recalled that the level of importation dropped from the last quarter of 2015 because of government policy, especially the restriction of the foreign exchange which he said affected the level of importation.
“And that’s why people are now jittery; they are neither here nor there. Nobody is importing now, they are watching. And that was why customs was unable to meet their target for last year.
“Government should relax most of these restrictions, the issue of FOREX policy that is affecting the industry and the issue of Dollar. Government should have a rethink on it so as to inwardly know what they can do to ameliorate the people’s suffering”, he stated.
The ANLCA spokesman further called on the federal government to indigenize customs brokerage adding that foreigners were taking over theiCr jobs.
“Let us do like other countries have done. If you are not Nigerian, you cannot practice customs brokerage”.
On the relationship of ANCA and other freight forwarding associations in the industry, he had this to say,” There is no rivalry. What is happening is on principle. Dr. Aniebonam, maybe I should show you our private chat yesterday for almost two hours. So, I don’t know why people read meanings in all these things and will just come out with some issues.
“We are going to have a robust relationship with them but we just have to let them know that we have to separate the boys from the men. A freight forwarder should know his limitation while a customs broker should know his limitation”.
On what ANLCA’s relationship with the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) will be this year, Farinto said,” I don’t know but the case is coming up next week”.
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