The Chairman of Lilypond chapter, Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA); Prince Anselm Njemanze in a chat with Shipping Position Daily, talked about the dwindling fortunes of Lilypond terminal, how cargoes can be cleared under 48 hours at the terminal. He also also talked about freight forwarders’ relationship with customs at the terminal and a lot more issues in this chat with our correspondent; Roland Ekama.
The Chairman of Lilypond chapter, Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA); Prince Anselm Njemanze in a chat with Shipping Position Daily, talked about the dwindling fortunes of Lilypond terminal, how cargoes can be cleared under 48 hours at the terminal. He also also talked about freight forwarders’ relationship with customs at the terminal and a lot more issues in this chat with our correspondent; Roland Ekama.
How would you describe the protest at APMT by agents and what impact has it contributed to Lilypond terminal?
Really the protest has affected us negatively, in the sense that most of our transactions here are done jointly with APMT. For instance our booking is jointly done at Apapa, therefore since APMT is not working as we speak, so also it is affecting operations at Lilypond.
What do you think can be done to resolve the problem?
As it is, we are people under authority and once you are under authority you must act within the confines of the authority that regulates you. As I am now, I am waiting for directive from my national headquarters and whatever they direct ,that I will do, but as an individual ,I sympathise with my colleagues who have been out of work for about 15 days now as a result of some unwanted practices . It is not only in Apapa, it happens everywhere, but I didn't see anything wrong in Apapa spearheading the crusade at the premier port and I think that their success is success for everyone but it still boils down to directive from the national headquarters of ANLCA; as people under authority, we must listen and wait over the lingering protest at Apapa port.
Apart from the protest what other challenges do agents face at Lilypond?
It is very many when you narrow it down to Lilypond. Our challenges are numerous; it has been a reoccurring decimal that everyday we grapple with in-activity. No vessel is being stemmed to Lilypond, even the ones stemmed to this place are being stepped down under the guise of fast track, and what have you. But I also state here that vessels must be stemmed to Lilypond directly because this place is a full-fledge command; it has all the characteristics and status of a dry port. And as a dry port it is entitled to direct consignments no matter the category or grade. Lilypond has all what it takes because here we have post audit, fast track system and all other facilities. Thus I do not see any reason why vessels should not be stemmed to Lilypond and why some of them should be stepped down for no reason.
What is the relationship between agents and customs at this terminal?
There is a cordial relationship between agents and customs in the terminal because the controller in charge is someone that always ensures that things are done properly. She is also there to nip any problem in the bud before it escalates, even if she hear any information that appears to be rumour, she acts upon it once and for all. She always call all parties involved whenever there are issues and she makes sure that the matter is settled once and for all. So there is no problem with the customs at Lilypond.
The Lilypond chapter of ANLCA does not have a befitting secretariat at the moment; please tell us the plans you have on ground about that?
Going by your statement, you are correct but be that as it may, it was as a result of where we are at the moment, because Lilypond is sandwiched in an environment where we have little or no space. If we are talking about having a secretariat, it must be outside this environment because by our left we are surrounded by tank farms, while our right we have the Ijora community, in front of us is the overhead bridge and that is why Lilypond is sandwiched without space. But as we speak the issue on the ground now is that we must get a befitting space no matter how small. We used to have our secretariat under the Ijora bridge, but this current administration has secured a place in the terminal and in less than two weeks, you will see a befitting canopy that we will erect right inside the terminal where we can be able to prosecute our jobs .
Is 48 hours cargo clearance achievable at Lilypond?
We operate faster than 48 hours here and we take delivery of cargoes in less than 48 hours. We take delivery of our service faster than any other off dock terminals and it is one of the goals the CAC promised us when she was posted to Lilypond therefore, I will say we are partners and that is why we are calling on all the authorities that are concerned to come into agreement in the clearance of cargo from the terminal. The only constraint we have in all of this is that our booking is at Point Road in Apapa coupled with the hectic nature of traffic. The location for booking office at Point Road in Apapa poses a serious threat to freight agents, we are exposed to all forms of danger including accident, traffic gridlock, police intimidation and robbery attack. That is why we are pressing on them for our bookings to come back to Lilypond because we currently execute our TDO at the terminal. Though challenges are abound but right now at the terminal, there is less work to do and activities are relatively low, we are not complaining about the equipment because if there is no work on ground how can we assess the level of equipment at the terminal. One thing about machines is that when they are over used, they might experience breakdown, but there is no way to find out if they are good or not.
What is your assessment of PAAR
PAAR has come to stay because it’s an indigenous concept; it has recorded some level of success when compared to what the other three service providers rendered during their regime. PAAR has competed favourably with the multinationals , thus it is a right step in the right direction in the sense that Nigeria Customs Service are now more professionalised than the inspection agents, because the service providers, hire and fire their staff during their regime but it is not so with the customs. The customs has trained its officers with modern technique to assist trade facilitation. From statistics, we gathered that N6billion was taken away from the shores of the country – courtesy of the destination inspection service providers and I want to say that if this money was ploughed back into the economy of the country, it will have a lot of changes in our lives. As regards PAAR and customs, whatever money that is being generated by customs is for our own economy and more so these expatriates do not really have fairness in them, they only came to exploit the economy of Nigeria.
How would you describe the court verdict on the case between the Nigeria Shippers’ Council and STOAN?
I know that the Nigeria Shippers’ Council is fighting a just course for the common man and I know the court case will go in favour of the council. The council saw some level of irregularities despite the concession agreement in 2006 which was not properly fine tuned by the government and as time progresses, the concessionaires took that advantage to rip-off Nigerians through the ignorance of the government. It was due to feedbacks on the part of the freight forwarders that made the government to realise that the concession agreement was not well documented is creating ripple effect in port operations and the economy of the country as well. We have experienced the highest extortion ever in the hands of the terminal operators and shipping lines. What the shippers’ council is doing for now is laudable, because we need a change at this point in time and it is only when we get it right that we can say, yes things have changed in our ports. As the ombudsman in port operations, there is the need for the council to stand its ground once and for all. The concessionaires knew quite alright that what they are doing is a mere deliberate act of cheating and that is the reason they went to court, but I know that they are going to fail because you can cheat some people some time, but you cannot cheat them all the time and what shippers’ council has done is an eye opener to everybody in the maritime industry. We are gradually getting to know those that do not want this country to move forward.
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