Customs stifling investment in-flows through Nigerian ports, LCCI

Louis Ibah

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) yesterday decried the decision of the Federal Government to allow the Nigerian Customs Service deploy (NCS) a special  ‘strike force’ to all ports in the country with the powers to intercept and effect seizures of cargo.

LCCI Director General, Mr.  Muda Yusuf, who stated this also bemoaned the inability to deploy functional scanners at the Lagos port complex in the past two years, noting that the persistent dependence on physical examination for cargo releases has been laborious, arduous,  time wasting and  detrimental to the cargo release process and the Nigerian economy.

“It is imperative for the Federal Government to expedite actions on the procurement of scanners for the Lagos ports in order to put an end to the physical examination of cargo and make the system technology driven,” said Yusuf,

Yusuf, in a statement on Sunday,  said allowing the NCS to have a special strike force at the ports with the powers to intercept and effect seizures of cargo would be detrimental to investment, just as the move would further complicate the already difficult cargo clearing process at the various ports.

Said Yusuf: “The directive confers vast discretionary powers on the Strike Force. This move would slow down the cargo clearing process as it amounts to creation of another layer of authority to intercept and seize cargoes that have been duly released by all agencies involved in the examination of the cargoes.  These agencies include Resident Customs officers of the command, Nigerian Ports Authority, NDLEA. DSS, Ports Police, Nigeria Immigration Service, NIMASA and Port Health.”

Yusuf said the strike force would undermine the Ease of Doing Business Policy of the Buhari administration and a negation of the Presidential Executive order on the streamlining of ports processes.  “Delays in the cargo clearing often results in high and avoidable demurrage to importers; high interest cost on funds used for import transactions, disruption of business processes including manufacturing activities, and many more,” said Yusuf.

“The LCCI submits that the deployment of the Strike Force to the ports should be reversed forthwith. Where the Comptroller-General does not trust the resident officers, they should be replaced with trusted ones rather than creating overlapping responsibilities and authorities which would further muddle an already arduous cargo clearing process,” added Yusuf.