By Oluyinka Onigbinde
The Patriots Anti-Corruption Initiative has raised the alarm over alleged extortion, cargo clearance delays and multiple bottlenecks at Nigerian ports, warning that the practices are driving up the cost of doing business and contributing to inflation.
The group, however, singled out some shipping lines and terminal operators for allegedly frustrating the Federal Government’s trade facilitation and ease-of-doing-business initiatives.
Speaking at a press briefing at the weekend, National President of the Patriots Anti-Corruption Initiative, Okogbue Eke, alleged that delays in the issuance of delivery orders, container examinations, cargo release and truck call-up processes were imposing additional financial burdens on importers, licensed customs agents and other port users.
Eke further alleged that some customs agents were being compelled to make unofficial payments to secure earlier examination dates and expedite the clearance of their consignments.
“We have evidence to prove this. If you want 50 pieces of evidence, we can provide them now. What they do is that if you want them to give you a date that is closer, you bribe them; that is what is called backyard settlement,” he said.
According to him, an agent reportedly paid N30,000 after making the required official payment in order to secure an earlier examination date for a container.
He called on the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, the Nigeria Customs Service and other relevant government agencies to urgently intervene and address the alleged practices.
The group also urged the Comptroller-General of Customs to investigate the alleged manual blocking of jobs in some Customs units, arguing that the practice undermines the principles of the One-Stop-Shop (OSS) system.
Meanwhile, the Vice National President of the group, Okwuosa Humphrey, said shipping companies occupy a critical position in the maritime value chain as they bring vessels and containers into the country for clearance by customs agents.
He said shipping lines were expected to support the government’s trade facilitation agenda by ensuring that cargo clearance processes were seamless and free from unnecessary delays.
Humphrey, however, alleged that some shipping companies were frustrating the process by delaying the electronic transmission of delivery orders to terminal operators even after agents had completed the required release procedures.
According to him, a process that should ordinarily be instantaneous could sometimes take several hours, making it difficult for agents to take delivery of their consignments on the same day.
He warned that such delays could result in the accumulation of demurrage charges, which importers and agents would eventually have to pay before their cargoes could be evacuated.
He also expressed concern over alleged cargo holds placed by agencies and other interests outside the established clearance chain.
Humphrey said the One-Stop-Shop initiative was introduced to eliminate unnecessary interventions by multiple government agencies and ensure that cargo clearance was handled through a coordinated system.
“Despite this, some interests have resorted to using shipping companies to place holds on consignments, requiring agents to visit offices before their cargo can be released. Such interventions create additional costs and contribute to inflation within the cargo clearance chain,” he said.
The Patriots Anti-Corruption Initiative consequently called for greater accountability among shipping companies, terminal operators and government agencies, insisting that businesses that have fulfilled all statutory clearance requirements should not be subjected to unnecessary delays, unofficial payments or repeated regulatory interventions.
The group said eliminating such bottlenecks would not only reduce the cost of cargo clearance but also strengthen Nigeria’s trade facilitation efforts and improve the competitiveness of the nation’s ports.
