By Steve Agbota
The Kirikiri Lighter Terminal (KLT) Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is grappling with dwindling trade volumes and poor importer patronage, a situation that has significantly impacted its revenue generation.
Comptroller Joy Edelduok, Area Controller of the Command, made this known during a courtesy visit by the leadership of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) to her office in Lagos recently.
While addressing the ANLCA delegation led by its National President, Mr. Emenike Nwokeoji, Comptroller Edelduok appealed for strategic collaboration to revive the terminal’s operations by encouraging importers to designate KLT as their port of destination.
She lamented that most importers have neglected the terminal, leading to reduced activity levels and a meagre revenue collection of N38 billion in the first quarter of 2025. According to her, out of the 13 bonded warehouses under KLT’s jurisdiction, only a few are functional, with the rest either underutilised or struggling to remain operational.
“I want to say that without the active participation of our stakeholders, the agents, the associations, I’m not sure we’ll be able to achieve our revenue goals,” Edelduok stated. “So, I want to say thank you for the cooperation we’ve had thus far. And coming today, I want to appeal for continued cooperation and collaboration, which is one of the main policy thrusts of our CGC, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi.”
She emphasized the importance of stakeholder involvement, particularly that of ANLCA, in repositioning KLT. She urged the association to use its influence with importers to steer cargo traffic back to the terminal, assuring stakeholders of 24-hour cargo delivery and improved efficiency.
“I want to appeal; we know that you are the ones that interface with your importers—we don’t know your importers; you are the ones we know. So, you are the ones that will take the word back to them to bring their consignment to KLT,” she said.
Comptroller Edelduok further pledged to strengthen the command’s relationship with the newly elected ANLCA KLT Chapter executives, led by Chairman Ahmed Olajide Bello, and called for transparency in cargo documentation to enhance trade facilitation.
Responding, ANLCA President Emenike Nwokeoji introduced the new chapter executives and reiterated the association’s readiness to support the command’s rejuvenation efforts.
He noted that ANLCA had emerged stronger and united after a protracted internal crisis that began in 2018.
“We are here to introduce to you our new executives of the chapter. We have gone through some issues in ANLCA since 2018, and through the intervention of the CGC, we are now one big united family,” he said. “The ANLCA you used to know is back, and we have taken back our rightful place.”
Nwokeoji acknowledged the importance of partnership in cargo routing, noting that ANLCA plays a critical role in influencing importer decisions.
“Our duty is to market commands. You cannot talk to the importers; no matter what you tell them, the importer would listen to us more than you,” he said. “For an importer or agent to choose a particular port, there must be something they are getting there. In our business, speed of clearance is important; whoever enters the market first will determine the price before others.”
He also emphasized the need for Customs officers to adopt a balanced approach to enforcement, urging them to focus on trade facilitation alongside revenue generation.
“Trade facilitation is important. Everything should not be about revenue. If an infraction is something you can overlook, please overlook it and caution the agent. The officers should please take it easy with the average agent—we are going through a whole lot,” he added.
On compliance, Nwokeoji affirmed ANLCA’s ongoing efforts to promote honest declarations among importers and agents to ensure smoother and faster cargo clearance.
“The speed of the cargo clearance cannot be what it ought to be if the declaration is not right. We are sensitising our importers and members on the need to always make honest declarations,” he said.
Also speaking, ANLCA Vice National President, Prince Segun Oduntan, pledged the association’s commitment to directing more cargo traffic to KLT, beginning with a trial batch.
“On the stemming of containers to this command, we are going to put our effort into it,” Oduntan said. “Since you have assured us, I can now tell my importer to use KLT—let us try them out, even if it is with ten containers. After this, we would continue to tell others.”
He applauded the leadership style of Comptroller Edelduok and expressed confidence in her ability to transform the terminal.
“The atmosphere here is very good. When you have women in management positions, we believe things go better. As we step out of here today, we will do more to assist you,” he said.