Factional President of National Council of Managing Directors Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA); Mr. Lucky Amiwero has been missing in action for a while. In this interview which he granted Roland Ekama upon his reappearance in Lagos, he said he had been in Abuja for about three months, working behind the scene to draw attention of the new government to the maritime sector.
"Collect POF and go to jail”… Lucky AmiweroWhat is your view about the maritime sector under PDP in the last 16 years?
The maritime industry has been seriously bastardised and it is supposed to be a revenue generation sector for the government. For the past 16 years, the sector has witnessed very serious presence and appointment of people who are not qualified; they have occupied positions that have actually drawn the maritime sector backwards. If you look at the maritime industry, it has no foundation , no strategic application to rules and regulations, in other words instead of the sector to create employment, it is rather killing the economy as a result of the people who occupied key positions and government must be aware. This is a new government that is coming with a new thing for the industry.
You have been in Abuja for about three months; what actually informed the relocation?
You don't just sit in Lagos and say there will be a change; rather you go there and put things right by trying to advice government properly and that is what we have done; by trying to push in information that can bring about the change in the industry that we desire. We are not like other associations that are involved in political heads; ours is to make sure that we position the agents and see the kind of job they desire. There is no way you can sit in Lagos where all other associations are interested in how to collect money; but of late ANLCA is becoming to take a new step in trying to see how things can be done properly. ANLCA has moved out of its mediocrity to visionary approach to issue because we cannot be there forever, we are only holding forth in trying to make things right but you will agree with me that other associations are interested in sharing of money; that is illegal. Association does not stand to collect or share money, rather it is set up to protect and project the image of the profession. The idea of people looking for money is illegal, it is uncalled for and when they collect that POF they will go to jail because it is illegal money. That money is not part of the law. Secondly that money has been cancelled by government since 2006 and if a man from the Ministry of Transport who doesn't understand the sector and gave them a circular that states that they should collect that fee, then something must be wrong because there is no where in the world where such is practised. Associations don't collect money from the ports even the CRFFN was not set up to collect money from the port. CRFFN does not have forklift or equipment to carry out operation at the port why are they collecting money? The law states that they should collect from freight forwarders and it’s not licensed customs agents. When you look at freight forwarders and licensed customs agents, you find out that they are two different things put together. A freight forwarder cannot come into the port to practice, therefore CRFFN role has not been defined properly and that is why I said the essence of the transport ministry to collect money is not right. The CRFFN was established to train freight forwarders and not to collect money. Whether you like it or not, a freight forwarder is a transporter; a freight forwarder cannot come into the port to practice when he does not have a license. We are the customs brokers. The laws are there and those are some of the things I have written to the government.
Can you be more exact about the outcome of your visit to Abuja?
My visit to Abuja is left between me and the government. What we have gone to do in Abuja is to alert government on certain things they must do. I did not go to Abuja as a member of NCMDLCA, but I went there as an individual who has served in government committees over the space of time and I went there to contribute my quota and then bring things that are relevant to the industry.
Do you think what you sold to the government will make any difference from what we are facing at the moment?
They have started working on some of the ideas I sold to them as we speak. This is not the same old government. Whether you like it or not, government has already started working on them. We are giving them information about things that are wrong, we are giving them information that are critical in professionalism and legal to maritime growth. It has nothing to with associations but reforms. Above all I have gone there to make my own input in order to assist government to make a difference from what we have seen in the maritime sector over the years that have been bastardised.
Freight forwarders have described the recent letter written by your Deputy President to the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation on POF collection as fake, what is your reaction to that ?
But we were all in Abuja and nobody can raise an eye on that issue surrounding the letter written to the SGF because that letter has addressed the issue critically. How can they say such letter is a forged when we are not criminals like some people who were dismissed from Customs or parade themselves as political leaders? We don't belong to those groups and in fact there are many more letters that will come because we are dealing with the government. When they say the letter is forged or not I don't blame them because it is the level of their education, most of them are illiterates, they didn't go to school and that is why they don't know their left from right. We don't forge letters, we influence letters. That letter was addressed to the deputy president on the basis of him signing the letter and it was even signed when ex-President Goodluck Jonathan was in office and they were all ashamed when they came to Abuja, none of them could raise a finger to ask about the letter. We don't behave like other associations and what we do is to get things right for the benefit of the industry. We don't behave like others who engage in money picking or go around to collect tolls like touts, we are not involved in that; rather we use our money to make a change for children yet unborn, therefore the issue about the letter from the Secretary to the Government is authentic and I was surprised when the agents display high level of ignorance in Lagos saying that the letter was fake. Many of them also believe that Minister of Transport is bigger than the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, but the answer is no. The minister is under the presidency and the SGF warehouses every policy from every other government or ministries. It would be recall that the permanent secretary was queried because of his attitude. He was queried because he did some certain things that he was not supposed to do. It is only the Secretary of the Government that can say Presidency and when you look at the letter, you will see it.
In what way did you see ANLCA doing the right thing as against resisting POF collection?
On the basis that they resisted the collection, it is laudable. They have done some good jobs in that regard; just recently ANLCA has started biting and people are beginning to see some responsible comments coming out from them which has made them to stand out. Ask from any ANLCA member they will tell that I went round to plant ANLCA in other ports outside Lagos. The ANLCA members you see today are all my subjects, ANLCA in the north or east are my initiative and the bottom line is I am ANLCA. I was the first national director of publicity of ANLCA and I bought ANLCA to limelight, I went round to make sure that the association exists in the whole country, so I think they have come of age.
Do you subscribe to the lobby for Nigerian Shippers Council to transmute into National Transport Commission?
That bill as we speak is dead on arrival. What the Nigerian Shippers' Council needs at the moment is to be strengthened, because all those Ports and Harbour bill and the NTC bill are highly political; there are so many interest attached to those bills that make things too complicated. There is no need for the laws to be pushed into the National Assembly. What the Council needs now is to be fine-tuned because this government is not interested in political influence of interest; it’s a focused government and we are saying that we need an NTC bill, one amendment by the government should do it all , which will define all what the council need to perform better then you will get result. The point I am making is that we don't need Ports and Harbour bill, neither do we need the NTC bill or MASECA bill because they are all politically-motivated
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