The Nation Newspaper

Category: Maritime

  • Dikko fires 13 Customs officers over ‘missing’ containers

    Thirteen Customs officers have been relieved of their jobs for allegedly sabotaging the efforts of the Comptroller-General Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi in making the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) work.

    The PAAR was introduced last month after the Federal Government declined to renew the contract of the three service providers handling Destination Inspection at the ports.

    The affected officers, it was learnt, were dismissed at the Tin Can Island Command in Apapa, Lagos, last week for taking advantage of the new regime to “fly” 40 containers out of the ports without proper examination and necessary documentation.

    “Fly” in maritime parlance is stealing of cargoes.

    The goods, sources said, were worth over N150 million.

    Contacted, Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs Tahir Musa confirmed the sack of the officers, saying 14 officers were fingered in the sabotage, but one was freed and re-instated after investigation.

    While addressing stakeholders at the Apapa Customs Command last week, Musa explained the challenges facing the Customs in implementing the PAAR. He said more than 99,300 Risk Assessment Reports (RAR) were transferred to the Customs by the former service providers, adding that the huge number of the RARs is creating problems in the issuance of PAAR on imported goods.

    “You are aware that the first PAAR was generated by Customs within 58 minutes of upload, but now, because of these 99,000 plus, we found out that PAARs are not coming out as anticipated, that is the reason we are here today, to tell you the problem we are facing.”

    He appealed to the stakeholders to support the Customs to sustain the PAAR regime, saying it is aimed at facilitating trade and reduce the time spent on cargo release from the ports.

    The Assistant Comptroller in charge of Modernisation and Research, Iya Abubakar, alleged that some of the 99,300 RARs were fabricated, adding that some saboteurs were trying to take advantage of the new situation to create problems.

    He alleged that most of the RARs were generated illegally after the Customs had taken over from the service providers.

    “From Apapa, I have seen RARs that were presented and were generated on December 2, wondering how that could be possible. “We know it is not true, but all the same, since you are complaining, management is saying that we should go ahead, but we know it is a lie, the pipe was closed on November 30, so how did the service providers generate your own RAR on December 2,” he querried.

    He said: “Importers who have already processed their documents and whose RARs are pending in the banks and could not be transmitted to NICIS platform as at November 30, 2013 by the service providers, are directed to access their RARs from the authorised dealer banks and commence processing of their goods.”

    Abubakar urged stakeholders to take advantage of this opportunity and get their cargoes released on or before January 31, 2014.

  • Fed Govt to concession jetties

    To ensure their optimal performance, the Federal Government plans to concession all its jetties to private operators next year.

    The Lagos Area Manager, National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Mr Muhammed Sambo, told reporters that the government took the decision to boost waterways transportation and generate more revenue.

    He spoke at a sensitisation programme to attract investors into waterways transportation.

    Sambo said: “If you have more efficient facilities, it is expected that you will generate more money apart from providing comfort for users and that is the essence of the concessioning.”

    He said NIWA did not have any company in mind to take up the business, adding that the plan is to provide a level playing field for participants, especially those in the water transport business.

    The lingering face off between NIWA and the Lagos State government, he said, would not affect the jetties’ concessioning, adding that the facilities belong to the government.

    He said: “NIWA wants to provide  efficient and first class facilities that are owned by the Federal Government, therefore, I don’t see any friction that can stop it,” he stressed.

    He criticised the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LAWSA), describing it as a creation of the Lagos State House of Assembly, which purported to repeal the NIWA Act, in order for it to be in existence.

    “The question is, can a state House of Assembly repeal a federal legislation? Thus to that extent, we do not have any relationship with LASWA.

    “We are in a federation and where a law of any federal constituent is in conflict with a federal law, the state laws remain null and void.”

    Despite the face-off with the state over some facilities in the metropolis, the concession holds next year.

    He said there must be a common goal for the Federal and state governments to develop an effective water transport system.

    Lagos, he said, should obtain permit from NIWA to set up a jetty on its own Lagoon.

    “While we concede the right of the governor to express his opinion as it relates to Inland Waterways in Lagos, we wish to draw the attention of His Excellency to the fact that where he is dissatisfied with the valid Federal law establishing the national Inland Waterways Authority, especially as it concerns the authority’s function and regulatory control over rivers, creeks, lagoon and lakes, other bodies of internal waters of Nigeria, the only alternative is the court of law and not otherwise,” he said: A few weeks ago, Governor Babatunde Fashola said Lagos did not need to obtain permit from the Federal Government to operate a jetty.

    He said his administration had the right to build the Lekki bridge without recourse to the government since “we are run a federal system of government.”

  • Ports stink, says ICPC

    From the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has come a damning report about the ports: they stink.

    Port operations, the report said, were riddled with corruption, adding that most of the units are manned by unqualified personnel.

    The report, titled: “Corruption Risk Assessment  in Nigerian ports”, was presented to the public in Abuja by the ICPC Chairman, Mr. Ekpo Nta.

    The study was carried out in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme, Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-Corruption Reforms, the Bureau for Public Procurement, the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network, the Nigerian Ports Authority and others.

    It focused on ports in Calabar, Tin Can, Apapa, Warri, Port Harcourt and Onne to identify gaps and vulnerabilities to corruption in the ports and offer remedies to the menace.

    Nta said the ICPC was empowered under Section 6(b) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000 to “examine the practices, systems and procedures of public bodies and where, in the opinion of the commission, such practices, systems or procedures aid or facilitate fraud or corruption, to direct and supervise a review.”

    Although he said the study was an assessment to prevent corruption and not an investigation, the ICPC boss stressed that the commission would not hesitate to prosecute corrupt persons.

    Nta said: “Corruption Risk Assessment is a preventive tool but it goes hand in hand with the enforcement of sanctions against unacceptable behavior. The study conducted was an assessment to prevent corruption and not an investigation.

    “While all is being done to prevent corruption, the commission will not hesitate to prosecute corrupt persons. In addition, we shall continue to deny corrupt persons the enjoyment of the proceeds of their crime through asset seizures and forfeiture.

    “Nigeria, the international business community, clients and all other stakeholders want to see transparent and clean corruption-prone free processes at the ports.”

    The report indicted Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) officials for manipulating clearance processes at the port to short-change government for personal gain, saying this explains the reason for the apathy displayed by the service towards the exercise.

    At the launch of the report in Abuja, Nta described it as a “corruption prevention tool which is applied in collaboration with organisations’ management to identify vulnerable areas that are prone to corruption and develop integrity plans would strengthen accountability and transparency.”

    Nta maintained that although the Corruption Risk Assessment was a tool to prevent corruption, it was not a substitute to investigation and prosecution function of the anti-graft body, as the Commission would not hesitate to bring anybody found wanting to book.

    “Corruption Risk Assessment is a preventive tool but it goes hand in hand with the enforcement of sanctions against unacceptable behavior. The study conducted was an assessment to prevent corruption and not an investigation. While all is being done to prevent corruption the commission will not hesitate to prosecute corrupt persons,” he said.

    Speaking on the findings of the report, the representative of Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-Corruption Reforms (TUGAR), Mrs Lilian Ekeangannu, noted poor facilities as well as lack of operational procedure which, she said give “port officials discretionary powers and sometimes inordinately delay the processing of document, often without consequence.”

    She explained that the NCS used ASYCUDA++ (UNCTAD’s Automated Customs Date Management System) to handle Customs clearance related processes to ensure transparency.

    Customs officers, she claimed, often conspired with clearing agents to influence the process which is electronic in nature to involve human contact for selfish interest, noting that officials deceive the public by saying that they had reduced clearing process to 40 per cent manual.

     

  • Reports on piracy misleading, says NIMASA boss

    Reports of attacks on ships on the nation’s territorial

    waters are sometimes exaggerated, the Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr Patrick Akpobolokemi, has said.

    He told members of the House of Representatives Committee on Marine Transport that NIMASA is collaborating with some security agencies to stem criminality.

    The NIMASA boss said the collaboration with the Navy and the Air Force had helped to reduce attacks on ships and cargoes.

    “Not all the cases of reported hijacks, piracy and robbery on our waters are genuine. Some of these cases are hyped to undermine us and shore-up insurance premium to Nigeria. I am not saying that piracy does not occur in our domain, but it is exaggerated. We are working tirelessly to reduce piracy and illicit crimes on our waterways to the barest minimum through these collaborative efforts,” he said.

    Akpobolokemi said NIMASA under his watch was committed to positioning Nigeria as the best maritime nation in Africa, by 2020.

    He said the budget performance of NIMASA in terms of revenue generation showed an improved performance as at October 31, when compared to last year’s, indicating that the agency is set to meet its target before the end of the fiscal year.

    urged the Federal Government to formulate and implement good policies that will galvanise the required change in the nation’s maritime sector.

    Akpobolokemi urged domestic and foreign investors to invest in the nation’s maritime sector as over 5,300 vessels called at the nation’s sea ports last year.

    Also delivering a paper on the ‘Maritime Sector: Gateway to Nigeria’s economic transformation’ at the event organised by the Maritime Reporters Association (MARAN) in Lagos, last week, Akpobolokemi, who was represented by the Deputy Director, Public Affairs, Mr Isichei Osamgbi, urged government’s agencies operating in the maritime sector to synergise to boost the sector.

    He said with appropriate synergy and information sharing, the sector would be transformed and yield huge revenue for the country.

    Akpobolokemi praised the National Assembly for its plan to amend the Cabotage Act and make it adaptive to the nation’s maritime industry.

    He listed the achievements of the agency during the period under review to include enhanced safety and security of the maritime domain through regular patrols, building a corps of qualified maritime professionals under the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP) scheme, establishment of Institutes of Maritime Studies in four universities, establishment of a Maritime University, establishment of a Science and Technical College and construction of a ship yard and dock yard.

    Others are regular funding of Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) in Oron, Akwa Ibom State, recruitment of qualified professionals in line with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Audit requirements, enhanced flag and port state administration, submission of the instruments of ratification of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) 2006 to the International Labour Organisation and procurement of boats through a PPP arrangement to boost enforcement.

    Appraising the agency’s performances, the Committee commended the budget performance of NIMASA this year.

    Its Chairman, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi noted that the management of the agency has been spending more on capital projects than overhead and described the step as a necessity and good omen if all sectors of the nation’s economy are to move forward.

    Ugwuanyi said his commitment will continue to support NIMASA in order to ensure maximum efficiency in the transformation of the maritime sector.

    The Committee also applauded the NSDP of NIMASA as a veritable tool for wealth creation and pledged its unflinching support for youth development in the sector.

    Speaking on the Cabotage Act, Ugwuanyi, however, said the committee had noted the concerns of the agency for an amendment to the law to make it more adaptable to the Nigerian maritime realities.

    He said: “We have noted your concerns about the Cabotage Act and have already made a presentation to the House Committee on Rules and Business. Very soon, the amendments will be presented to the House for consideration.”

    The Chairman however, urged NIMASA to support the aspiration of MAN towards transforming into a degree awarding institution, as that would further enhance capacity development in the maritime sector.

  • Dikko fires 13 Customs officers over ‘missing’ containers

    Dikko fires 13 Customs officers over ‘missing’ containers

    Thirteen Customs officers have been relieved of their jobs for allegedly sabotaging the efforts of the Comptroller-General Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi in making the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) work.

    The PAAR was introduced last month after the Federal Government declined to renew the contract of the three service providers handling Destination Inspection at the ports.

    The affected officers, it was learnt, were dismissed at the Tin Can Island Command in Apapa, Lagos, last week for taking advantage of the new regime to “fly” 40 containers out of the ports without proper examination and necessary documentation.

    “Fly” in maritime parlance is stealing of cargoes.

    The goods, sources said, were worth over N150 million.

    Contacted, Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs Tahir Musa confirmed the sack of the officers, saying 14 officers were fingered in the sabotage, but one was freed and re-instated after investigation.

    While addressing stakeholders at the Apapa Customs Command last week, Musa explained the challenges facing the Customs in implementing the PAAR. He said more than 99,300 Risk Assessment Reports (RAR) were transferred to the Customs by the former service providers, adding that the huge number of the RARs is creating problems in the issuance of PAAR on imported goods.

    “You are aware that the first PAAR was generated by Customs within 58 minutes of upload, but now, because of these 99,000 plus, we found out that PAARs are not coming out as anticipated, that is the reason we are here today, to tell you the problem we are facing.”

    He appealed to the stakeholders to support the Customs to sustain the PAAR regime, saying it is aimed at facilitating trade and reduce the time spent on cargo release from the ports.

    The Assistant Comptroller in charge of Modernisation and Research, Iya Abubakar, alleged that some of the 99,300 RARs were fabricated, adding that some saboteurs were trying to take advantage of the new situation to create problems.

    He alleged that most of the RARs were generated illegally after the Customs had taken over from the service providers.

    “From Apapa, I have seen RARs that were presented and were generated on December 2, wondering how that could be possible. “We know it is not true, but all the same, since you are complaining, management is saying that we should go ahead, but we know it is a lie, the pipe was closed on November 30, so how did the service providers generate your own RAR on December 2,” he querried.

    He said: “Importers who have already processed their documents and whose RARs are pending in the banks and could not be transmitted to NICIS platform as at November 30, 2013 by the service providers, are directed to access their RARs from the authorised dealer banks and commence processing of their goods.”

    Abubakar urged stakeholders to take advantage of this opportunity and get their cargoes released on or before January 31, 2014.

  • Merchant Navy set to boost water security

    The Nigeria Merchant Navy (NMN) is set to boost maritime security in the country.

    Speaking during its Ceremonial Parade at the Merchant Navy Training Depot, Idah, Kogi State, its Head of Department, Training Depot, Lt John Buba said his people are up to the task.

    Protecting the nation’s waterways from criminals, insurgent, and contributing to the growth of the maritime sector, Buba said, are some of the goals of the NMN.

    He said the NMN has acquired the skills to monitor the flow of goods into and outside the country in order to ensure safety of goods and life.

    Buba said, he was happy after seeing the junior cadet displayed various gallantries effort and professionalism in the act of combating crime in the nation’s water ways and maritime domain.

    Buba expressed satisfaction over the turn-out of the event, adding that NMN can boasts of personnel that are technically, physically and mentally prepared and trained to combat local and international crimes.

    Buba commended the effort of the traditional Nigeria Navy towards safeguarding the Nigerian Maritime boundaries.

    He however, stressed that the activities of the traditional Navy do not cover any vessel beyond the country’s maritime boundary which he said, has led to mysterious leakages of revenue.

    He urged the National Assembly to pass the Nigerian Merchant Bill to grow the economy.

    ‘’The US Navy, US Marine Corp and US Coast Guard are security agencies that have similar mode of operations, but cover different terrains.’’ he said.

    Also speaking at the event, the Head Medical/PRO Training Depot, Lt. Immaculate Aghaulor said that the parade was to show to Nigerians and the world the readiness of the NMN to protect the maritime sector in order to drive the nation’s economy.

    The Assistant Intelligence, Training Depot officer, Lt. Solomon Ocheja commended governors and traditional leaders who have been very supportive to them.

  • Fed Govt to concession jetties

    To ensure their optimal performance, the Federal Government plans to concession all its jetties to private operators next year.

    The Lagos Area Manager, National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Mr Muhammed Sambo, told reporters that the government took the decision to boost waterways transportation and generate more revenue.

    He spoke at a sensitisation programme to attract investors into waterways transportation.

    Sambo said: “If you have more efficient facilities, it is expected that you will generate more money apart from providing comfort for users and that is the essence of the concessioning.”

    He said NIWA did not have any company in mind to take up the business, adding that the plan is to provide a level playing field for participants, especially those in the water transport business.

    The lingering face off between NIWA and the Lagos State government, he said, would not affect the jetties’ concessioning, adding that the facilities belong to the government.

    He said: “NIWA wants to provide  efficient and first class facilities that are owned by the Federal Government, therefore, I don’t see any friction that can stop it,” he stressed.

    He criticised the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LAWSA), describing it as a creation of the Lagos State House of Assembly, which purported to repeal the NIWA Act, in order for it to be in existence.

    “The question is, can a state House of Assembly repeal a federal legislation? Thus to that extent, we do not have any relationship with LASWA.

    “We are in a federation and where a law of any federal constituent is in conflict with a federal law, the state laws remain null and void.”

    Despite the face-off with the state over some facilities in the metropolis, the concession holds next year.

    He said there must be a common goal for the Federal and state governments to develop an effective water transport system.

    Lagos, he said, should obtain permit from NIWA to set up a jetty on its own Lagoon.

    “While we concede the right of the governor to express his opinion as it relates to Inland Waterways in Lagos, we wish to draw the attention of His Excellency to the fact that where he is dissatisfied with the valid Federal law establishing the national Inland Waterways Authority, especially as it concerns the authority’s function and regulatory control over rivers, creeks, lagoon and lakes, other bodies of internal waters of Nigeria, the only alternative is the court of law and not otherwise,” he said: A few weeks ago, Governor Babatunde Fashola said Lagos did not need to obtain permit from the Federal Government to operate a jetty.

    He said his administration had the right to build the Lekki bridge without recourse to the government since “we are run a federal system of government.”

  • Ports stink, says ICPC

    From the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has come a damning report about the ports: they stink.

    Port operations, the report said, were riddled with corruption, adding that most of the units are manned by unqualified personnel.

    The report, titled: “Corruption Risk Assessment  in Nigerian ports”, was presented to the public in Abuja by the ICPC Chairman, Mr. Ekpo Nta.

    The study was carried out in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme, Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-Corruption Reforms, the Bureau for Public Procurement, the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network, the Nigerian Ports Authority and others.

    It focused on ports in Calabar, Tin Can, Apapa, Warri, Port Harcourt and Onne to identify gaps and vulnerabilities to corruption in the ports and offer remedies to the menace.

    Nta said the ICPC was empowered under Section 6(b) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000 to “examine the practices, systems and procedures of public bodies and where, in the opinion of the commission, such practices, systems or procedures aid or facilitate fraud or corruption, to direct and supervise a review.”

    Although he said the study was an assessment to prevent corruption and not an investigation, the ICPC boss stressed that the commission would not hesitate to prosecute corrupt persons.

    Nta said: “Corruption Risk Assessment is a preventive tool but it goes hand in hand with the enforcement of sanctions against unacceptable behavior. The study conducted was an assessment to prevent corruption and not an investigation.

    “While all is being done to prevent corruption, the commission will not hesitate to prosecute corrupt persons. In addition, we shall continue to deny corrupt persons the enjoyment of the proceeds of their crime through asset seizures and forfeiture.

    “Nigeria, the international business community, clients and all other stakeholders want to see transparent and clean corruption-prone free processes at the ports.”

    The report indicted Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) officials for manipulating clearance processes at the port to short-change government for personal gain, saying this explains the reason for the apathy displayed by the service towards the exercise.

    At the launch of the report in Abuja, Nta described it as a “corruption prevention tool which is applied in collaboration with organisations’ management to identify vulnerable areas that are prone to corruption and develop integrity plans would strengthen accountability and transparency.”

    Nta maintained that although the Corruption Risk Assessment was a tool to prevent corruption, it was not a substitute to investigation and prosecution function of the anti-graft body, as the Commission would not hesitate to bring anybody found wanting to book.

    “Corruption Risk Assessment is a preventive tool but it goes hand in hand with the enforcement of sanctions against unacceptable behavior. The study conducted was an assessment to prevent corruption and not an investigation. While all is being done to prevent corruption the commission will not hesitate to prosecute corrupt persons,” he said.

    Speaking on the findings of the report, the representative of Technical Unit on Governance and Anti-Corruption Reforms (TUGAR), Mrs Lilian Ekeangannu, noted poor facilities as well as lack of operational procedure which, she said give “port officials discretionary powers and sometimes inordinately delay the processing of document, often without consequence.”

    She explained that the NCS used ASYCUDA++ (UNCTAD’s Automated Customs Date Management System) to handle Customs clearance related processes to ensure transparency.

    Customs officers, she claimed, often conspired with clearing agents to influence the process which is electronic in nature to involve human contact for selfish interest, noting that officials deceive the public by saying that they had reduced clearing process to 40 per cent manual.

  • Reports on piracy misleading, says NIMASA boss

    Reports of attacks on ships on the nation’s territorial waters are sometimes exaggerated, the Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr Patrick Akpobolokemi, has said.

    He told members of the House of Representatives Committee on Marine Transport that NIMASA is collaborating with some security agencies to stem criminality.

    The NIMASA boss said the collaboration with the Navy and the Air Force had helped to reduce attacks on ships and cargoes.

    “Not all the cases of reported hijacks, piracy and robbery on our waters are genuine. Some of these cases are hyped to undermine us and shore-up insurance premium to Nigeria. I am not saying that piracy does not occur in our domain, but it is exaggerated. We are working tirelessly to reduce piracy and illicit crimes on our waterways to the barest minimum through these collaborative efforts,” he said.

    Akpobolokemi said NIMASA under his watch was committed to positioning Nigeria as the best maritime nation in Africa, by 2020.

    He said the budget performance of NIMASA in terms of revenue generation showed an improved performance as at October 31, when compared to last year’s, indicating that the agency is set to meet its target before the end of the fiscal year.

    urged the Federal Government to formulate and implement good policies that will galvanise the required change in the nation’s maritime sector.

    Akpobolokemi urged domestic and foreign investors to invest in the nation’s maritime sector as over 5,300 vessels called at the nation’s sea ports last year.

    Also delivering a paper on the ‘Maritime Sector: Gateway to Nigeria’s economic transformation’ at the event organised by the Maritime Reporters Association (MARAN) in Lagos, last week, Akpobolokemi, who was represented by the Deputy Director, Public Affairs, Mr Isichei Osamgbi, urged government’s agencies operating in the maritime sector to synergise to boost the sector.

    He said with appropriate synergy and information sharing, the sector would be transformed and yield huge revenue for the country.

    Akpobolokemi praised the National Assembly for its plan to amend the Cabotage Act and make it adaptive to the nation’s maritime industry.

    He listed the achievements of the agency during the period under review to include enhanced safety and security of the maritime domain through regular patrols, building a corps of qualified maritime professionals under the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP) scheme, establishment of Institutes of Maritime Studies in four universities, establishment of a Maritime University, establishment of a Science and Technical College and construction of a ship yard and dock yard.

    Others are regular funding of Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) in Oron, Akwa Ibom State, recruitment of qualified professionals in line with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Audit requirements, enhanced flag and port state administration, submission of the instruments of ratification of the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) 2006 to the International Labour Organisation and procurement of boats through a PPP arrangement to boost enforcement.

    Appraising the agency’s performances, the Committee commended the budget performance of NIMASA this year.

    Its Chairman, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi noted that the management of the agency has been spending more on capital projects than overhead and described the step as a necessity and good omen if all sectors of the nation’s economy are to move forward.

    Ugwuanyi said his commitment will continue to support NIMASA in order to ensure maximum efficiency in the transformation of the maritime sector.

    The Committee also applauded the NSDP of NIMASA as a veritable tool for wealth creation and pledged its unflinching support for youth development in the sector.

    Speaking on the Cabotage Act, Ugwuanyi, however, said the committee had noted the concerns of the agency for an amendment to the law to make it more adaptable to the Nigerian maritime realities.

    He said: “We have noted your concerns about the Cabotage Act and have already made a presentation to the House Committee on Rules and Business. Very soon, the amendments will be presented to the House for consideration.”

    The Chairman however, urged NIMASA to support the aspiration of MAN towards transforming into a degree awarding institution, as that would further enhance capacity development in the maritime sector.

  • Ports service providers left old scanners, Customs chief alleges

    Ports service providers left old scanners, Customs chief alleges

    • It’s not true

    Over 14,000 Customs officers have been trained to take over the scanning jobs of the former service providers at the ports, The Nation has learnt.

    It was gathered that most of the scanners that were handed over to the Customs by the three suspended service providers are obsolete.

    It was learnt that the Customs is planning to import 50 brand new high powered scanners to ensure success and efficiency in container scanning by its officers under the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) at the ports.

    Addressing reporters at the Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone ‘A’ in Ikeja, Lagos, the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC) Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi, said: “In the last seven years, the service providers were only able to provide 21 scanners.

    “During the transition process, we hired a consultant to help us ascertain the condition of these scanners, we also went to the manufacturers again to verify the status of these scanners, we discovered that the scanners are actually obsolete as at today. They are not scanners that will deliver the vision of the Comptroller-General, but we still have to take over what we met on ground,” he said.

    Contacted, the SGS spokesman, Mr Lanre Badmus, denied the story.

    He said the mobile and the fixed scanners they left at the ports are new and working well.

    Abdullahi said of the 21 scanners inherited from the Cotecna, SGS, and Global Scan Systems, only few are working.

    While lamenting that those functional are not working well, he assured importers and clearing agents that new ones would soon be provided by the Customs.

    To ensure efficiency in containers scanning under PAAR, the Customs has expressed its readiness to import 50 modern scanners that will be deployed in the ports nationwide.

    The scanners, Dikko said, would be imported over the next five years to complement the inherited scanners that would be repaired.

    He criticised the service providers for always trying to trivialise the efforts and capacity of the Customs officers in handling the DI scheme.

    According to him, at the end of every contract, while lobbying for contract extensions, the service providers always lied Federal Government that Customs was not ready to take over the job.

    Dikko however, said that as part of the efforts and strategy to make Customs independent; the service had trained more than 14, 000 officers in readiness for the take-over.

    He said out of the trained numbers, 350 young, ICT-savvy officers were deployed in issuing the PAAR, while additional 300 officers were deployed in the handling of the scanning machines.

    “But these service providers have been in and around us for over 30 years, and at the end of every contract, they come out with statements that Customs are not ready,” he regretted.

    “You are very much aware this is a long battle fought and we must succeed. It is a fight from top to bottom and I want to thank Mr. President and also the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy for being behind us to take over.”

    The visibly elated Comptroller- General, who commended the officers for generating all-time high revenue in August, urged them to be of good behaviour, even as he admonished them to be up and doing in order to surpass their target.

    “You are very much aware that our funding is hinged on the collection of the seven per cent. The more revenue we collect, the more revenue we have. We are hanging on intervention fund and it is not forthcoming, but if we work hard, I can assure you that the seven percent will be ok for us and the one per cent the service providers are collecting will also come to us,” he said.

    Dikko assured that with the taking over of the DI scheme and the use of PAAR, the one per cent revenue on import, which was hitherto collected by service providers, will accrue to the Federal Government.

    While allaying the fears of importers and clearing agents on PAAR, he said the service would embark on classroom teachings and further sensitisation of freight forwarders, importers and the trading community on PAAR.

    Dikko said the PAAR campaign would also get to the Eastern zone where it would be hosted by the Governor of Anambra State, as well as those in the Northern Zone.