Vice President Namadi Sambo has directed the Nigeria Customs Service to clear all containers that came into the country in connection with the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) and other equipment that are energy-generation related and which rae lying at various ports and bonded terminals in the country.
The VP gave the order last week while speaking in Abuja at a meeting on Risk Assessment Report (RAR). The meeting was attended by shipping companies and agents, terminal operators, Nigeria Customs Service and other stakeholders in the nation’s maritime sector.
Lamenting that the nations seaports are characterised by unnecessary delay of imported consignments, he attributed the delay in clearing the NIPP containers to the cankerworm of bottlenecks and directed that all payment should be made to clear the goods.
He also noted that there was $5.6 billion available for power project and that the Risk Assessment Report (RAR) which was introduced for some years now had become a menace and brought down the effectiveness of shipping processes in the country.
According to him the delays are responsible for what he called inadequate equipment supply for the NIPP projects and unnecessary hardship on Nigerians.
The VP also lamented the rising cost of living in the country and maintained that the root cause is the high cost of clearing goods at ports. He however warned that Nigerians should not suffer because of administrative problems.
Sambo also lashed out at the rampant collection or demurrage by the Nigeria Customs, saying that "once there is a delay and there is demurrage cost on goods, the importers add that value to the Nigerian users and this is causing serious problems in our economy. This government does not want people to spend more for doing business."
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