Vice President Namadi Sambo on Friday lauded the improved Turn Around Time of ships in Nigerian ports, saying the cost of doing business in Nigerian ports was no longer high.
Sambo, who was represented by Mr Olugbenga Oyewole, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Maritime Services, said this in a message to the inauguration of the permanent secretariat of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) in Lagos.
“The introduction of Pre-Arrival Assessment Report of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) had assisted in reducing the time which ships spent while waiting to discharge cargoes. The cooperation of customs and other government agencies led to the tremendous change in port operations.
“This is the first time in the history of Nigeria that clearing agents will be moved out of the ports,’’ he said.
He said the NCS was tasked to recover N1.2 trillion out of N4 trillion expected to be generated from all government’s revenues in 2014.
He urged the management of the NCS to recognise and regulate the activities of Chandlers at the port.
Chandlers are a group of people that supply all the needs of ships’ operators.
The Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar, who was also represented by Alhaji Tahiru Bala, the Senior Special Assistant on Maritime Operations in the Ministry of Transport commended ANLCA for the effective role it played in the establishment of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN).
He said the celebration of 60 years by the association was a landmark achievement, adding that the Federal Government was aware of its contribution to revenue collection.
Idris commended the efforts of ANLCA in achieving the Transformation Agenda of Mr President.
In his speech, the Comptroller-General of Customs said that 60 years anniversary of ANLCA indicated that the association had come of age as a strong institution in the trade facilitation chain.
“The commissioning of the association’s permanent secretariat also symbolises its bold determination to establish the association as a professional body.
“The NCS wishes to identify with you on this occasion and reaffirm our commitment to partner with you in attaining professionalism.
“We note with satisfaction the cooperation which customs has enjoyed from ANLCA over the years, particularly under the leadership of Prince Olayiwola Shittu,” Dikko said.
The NCS boss said the service had recorded tremendous progress in the implementation of the government’s six-point Agenda.
He said so far, the NCS had trained over 15,000 Customs officers in core areas of customs operations on Tariff Classification, Valuation, Enforcement and e-Customs.
