Cargo clearance at Nigerian ports most difficult in the world – Shittu

The immediate past president, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Prince Olayiwola Shittu, has decried the amount of time spent to clear cargoes at the nation’s seaports, describing Nigeria’s cargo clearance as one of the most difficult in the world.

Shittu who was speaking Saturday as a panelist at the Maritime and Offshore Award (The OMIS) Technical summit held at Oriental Hotel in Lagos said it takes up to two months to clear cargo from the nation’s ports while countries like America and Britain take only 24hours and South Korea three days.

He blamed the delay experienced in cargo clearance on the presence of several government agencies at the ports who have been empowered to raise Internally Generated Revenue (IGR)

Speaking he said, “Cargo clearance in Nigeria is one of the most difficult. You can release a cargo within 24 hours if you are in America and Britain, in South Korea it is about three days, but in Nigeria, sometimes it is about two months.

“We need to find out what is wrong. It is because all the Federal government agencies in the port today have been empowered to raise Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) outside their budget, so people are more interested in the revenue they would collect internally, than the ones they would collect for the government.

“Anybody who is given the opportunity to collect money on behalf of the government, must surely collect money for your pocket no matter how safe you are. That is why the image of those of us in the port industry have always been battered.” Shittu said.

Speaking on the importation of fake drugs and products into the country, Prince Shittu who is also the Managing Director/CEO Skelas Group lamented that licensed customs agents being representatives of shippers are always at the receiving end even when the content of the container is unknown to him.

Shittu, who called for collective efforts to address the plights of customs agents, tasked the Minister of Blue Economy to develop regulations not just on cargo examination by Customs but on the responsibility of everyone concerned in the cargo clearance value chain.

“Nigeria suddenly has become endangered with the large inflow of illicit drugs, contraband and fake products. The shipper did not engage anyone before travelling abroad after opening form M to go and ship his goods that are destined for Nigeria. Only he knows the content of what he is shipping down. The shipping agents in Nigeria, the freight forwarders don’t have an idea of what is in the cargo until when he gets to the stage where you need Customs examination with other regulatory agencies that he suddenly finds out that things that were described as XYZ becomes tramadol.

“The CRFFN that is designed to regulate the licensed customs brokers and the freight forwarders have fallen short in their responsibility partly because the ministry never thought well that that part of regulation is important to them.

“Freight forwarders clamor for the blue economy and safety both on the sea and inland just because we are the representatives of the shippers who keep you in the dark and you take a risk of coming forward to do declaration because you are licensed by Customs and you are liable to what your principal does.

“So, whenever they open the container and its tramadol, the first person they grab is the customs agent. So, it’s a matter of concern for us. We are expecting the new ministry to analyze the responsibility of everyone concerned in the value chain of cargo arriving and delivery. Until we put our acts together not just having the ministry of blue economy but on regulation not just for customs examination but rather how we do processes that add value to cargo clearance,” he said.