Chief Alloy Igwe is the immediate past chairman Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) chapter of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agent (ANLCA). In this interview with Anozie Egole, he speaks on his six years’ tenure, the CRFFN, closure of land borders and other issues.
• There is nothing wrong about splitting airport command into two
• Closure of land border is the right thing to do
What are your achievements as the immediate past MMIA chapter chairman of ANLCA after six years in office?
I don’t like to blow my trumpet I would have loved people, especially those agents practicing at the airport to give you this answer. But all the same, the only thing I know is that my coming into that place registered a tremendous thing, for those who know what the airport looks like before, if you are very conversant with the operations at the airport before, you will know that there were a lot of tremendous changes and differences, after my six years as a chairman there. Our relationship with the agencies at the airport has turned out to be one of the best, the befitting secretariat there is also for people to witness, before now agents cluster under the umbrella but we were able to get the secretariat even before the national secretariat at our headquarter. We are the first chapter to have a lot of operational vehicles like Hilux vans, buses and all that, we organized seminars and workshops periodically for members. Under one year, aged members were taken care of on monthly basis, we had partnership with hospitals where sick members go for medical treatment. We also had insurance policy for members.
What were your challenges?
The only problem which is still there and which is confronting this association is the issue of tribalism, it has been there and I wouldn’t like to consider that as a problem. Naturally there is no place you will work that you won’t be confronted with a lot of problems, but what matters is the ability for you to take it head long; after all that was why people elected you. So most times I don’t see some certain things as issues because I believe that was why I was elected. Problems are there that would confront you and the reason you are there is to confront those problems and get along with them. So I don’t see such as hindrances.
Now that you have left office as ANLCA chairman MMIA chapter, what are your next plans?
I am somebody who is guided by the spirit, God always want where he wants you to serve his people. I have completed my assignment as the airport chapter chairman of ANLCA, so if there is any way he wants me to serve in the cause of being a customs broker, I will take it. After all I am still working as a customs broker; I will do that. On the issue of going to politics, let’s keep our fingers crossed, the time is still far.
How would you react to the recent splitting of the MMIA command of the customs into two?
I think change is something that is constant, every other thing will come; there is nothing wrong about that and it is not even only airport, the service created eight new commands which MMIA is part of. There is nothing bad with that, it brings governance closer, it brings development closer and also operational management to be every efficient. So customs in their wisdom know why they did that and I think it is a good development.
Do you think the move will help the service in the area of revenue generation?
I think it will enhance more revenue because the moment it will bring proper management, managing a vast place and when you split it into two, it will give you the opportunity to see exactly what is happening in the smaller area where you are having now. The tendency is that proper management will set in and more revenue will come in. I think it will give the service opportunity to generate more revenue.
What do you think is still delaying the collection of POF by CRFFN?
I can’t speak for CRFFN, it is a regulatory body, from my knowledge the CRFFN has been in problems for some time coupled with what happened with the last council. So this new people are just less than a year old now, I know that they would be having some difficulties in terms of having their footing. So whatever that is delaying them from collecting the POF, I don’t know and I would not want to comment much on CRFFN.
Do you agree that CRFFN is not an agency of the government?
I want to ask, is CRFFN a private body, any agency set up that falls under the ministry of government is under the government, that is how I look at it. An Act established CRFFN and the government nominated members into CRFFN, it is a parastatal under the ministry of transportation and I think they enjoy budget under the ministry, so how else can we classify such a body?
What are your expectations from the 9th National Assembly?
Well, they were just newly-sworn in, it will be too early now to begin to access them, but one thing I do normally tell people is that we must begin to see this country as our own, we don’t have any other country. So whatever responsibility that we are given, we should give our best I don’t want to live in the past, the 8th assembly has done their own and they have gone, so using the past to judge the new one might be very unfriendly to the people coming in. So let us do our best and support them and by the next three to four years, we will be able to access them.
What do you have to say about the closure of land border?
I think in a country, the right thing to do when we have a lot of agencies working, collaboration should be the right thing. They should team up together to synergize on how to guard the borders properly. So it is the right thing to do.
Which government agency do you think should leave the ports?
I don’t think I am in a better position to say which agency is more important than the other. The government knows the agency that is supposed to be in the ports, they have their different assignments. So my advice is that if there is anyone that overlaps itself or tries to do a different job, the government should do the needful, because I know they have their individual assignments.
Discussion about this post