The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) said it will unveil a customised bank-enabled identification card for its members as part of activities marking its 72nd anniversary.
The card, being developed in collaboration with Access Bank, is expected to serve as an identification document for ANLCA members while also providing access to banking services.
Chairman of the ANLCA 72nd Anniversary Local Organising Committee (LOC), Prince Segun Oduntan, disclosed this on Monday at a press briefing in Lagos, saying the initiative was part of efforts to demonstrate the association’s transformation into a more modern and digitally driven organisation.
According to him, the card will be formally unveiled during the anniversary celebration scheduled for September 29 at the Marriott Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.
Oduntan, who is also the Vice President of ANLCA, clarified that the new card was not the biometric identification card previously associated with the association’s electoral processes.
“It is not biometric. It is not for election. It is an ID card for identification,” he said.
He explained that the card would enable the association to identify its members wherever they operate, while its banking functionality would allow eligible members to use it for transactions.
According to him, Access Bank is the financial institution currently involved in the initiative, although the card is customised specifically for ANLCA.
Oduntan added that members would need to maintain an account with Access Bank to use the card.
He, however, stressed that possession of the card would not stop members’ obligation to pay their association dues.
“This is an ID card for identification. But that does not mean that if you have it, then you don’t pay your dues,” he said.
Oduntan said the introduction of the bank-enabled card was part of a broader transformation taking place within ANLCA, which also includes increased emphasis on digitalisation, professional training and capacity building.
He said the association was keeping pace with the modernisation initiatives of the Nigeria Customs Service, particularly through continuous training of its members.
According to him, ANLCA members participate in training programmes at both national and international levels, including programmes involving the World Customs Organization (WCO).
He said the association had developed a system in which members trained at national level now transfer the knowledge to chapters across the country.
“This is how we take up the training. When the training is done within the national level, we have different representatives from different chapters. Those who represented the chapters, we now take it to the chapter level,” he said.
Oduntan also said the association’s training programmes had helped to change the perception of customs brokerage as a profession for people without formal education.
He said graduates, young professionals are now increasingly showing interest in the profession.
According to him, some corps members who had undergone their service with ANLCA had remained in the profession after completing their service.
He said the development demonstrated the increasing professionalisation of customs brokerage and the changing profile of ANLCA as an association.
“Unlike before, ANLCA of today is a digitized Association. This ANLCA hall that you are sitting today is designated as one of the centers of National Single Window, where thousands of members and non-members are trained. This has never happened before. In any event, in anything that is going on in the maritime industry, it is either ANLCA is there or the event is not complete.We have been trained both within and outside the country and more of such trainings are still coming, ” he said.
Photo caption:
R-L: Chairman, ANLCA 72nd Anniversary Local Organising Committee (LOC), Prince Segun Oduntan; Treasurer, Hajia Bola Muse and Publicity Secretary, Onyema Emmanuel during a press briefing in Lagos on Monday at a press briefing in Lagos on Monday.
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