The Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar has said that the much-desired 48 hours process of cargo clearance at the nation’s seaports has not been successful as a result of the obsolete policies, especially the 100% cargo examination that is being carried out on imported cargoes by the Nigeria Customs Service.
The minister has also said that most of the bottlenecks faced in the process of cargo clearance are being caused by the stakeholders and the operators themselves.
The Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar has said that the much-desired 48 hours process of cargo clearance at the nation’s seaports has not been successful as a result of the obsolete policies, especially the 100% cargo examination that is being carried out on imported cargoes by the Nigeria Customs Service.
The minister has also said that most of the bottlenecks faced in the process of cargo clearance are being caused by the stakeholders and the operators themselves.
Umar gave the verdict yesterday in Abuja during his presentations on the mid-term achievements of the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan in the transport sector.
He revealed however that the ministry is already partnering with the Customs to chart a way forward, particularly in the area of reducing the number of desk in the cargo clearance process.
Umar who was addressing the nation alongside his counterparts from the ministry of works and ministry of information stressed that, there is need to for the Customs to make adjustments in its laws and review its policies.
"All the problems militating the 48-hour clearance in the port are man-made problems, they are human problems created by the operators, I mean the stakeholders in the port, so it is the same stakeholders that must put heads together to address the problem", he stated.
"What we are addressing now is our collaboration with the Customs so as to remove certain inhibitions; we are very particular on the need for Custom to review the 100% physical examination on containers and cargoes".
"We realise that if there is a way the Nigeria Customs Service can revisit this and review their policies, it will help a lot".
"They have also been asked to reduce the number of clearing desks in the port, we believe that if this is done, it will help a lot in achieving our 48 hours target of cargo clearance" Umar stated.
He revealed that the ministry is already in consultation with stakeholders including the terminal operators, freight forwarders, manufacturers, shipping companies among others, in order to address the problems.
The minister further assured that the ministry is already working on an addendum which includes rehabilitation of the rail lines leading to the ports and that very soon containers will be transported from the Lagos ports to the hinterlands through the rail system.
He said that this request has already been submitted to the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) for the issuance of 'no objection' form, after which, it will be passed to the Federal Executive Council.
And speaking at the event, minister of information; Mr Labaran Maku said that President Goodluck Jonathan's intervention in the transport sector in the last two years is “unprecedented in the history of Nigeria“
Maku challenged those with contrary opinions to a debate based on the realities on ground.
He said that the resuscitation of the rail and water sub-sectors was what many administrations, since independence, had not been able to achieve.
According to him, Nigerians “have never seen anything like we have seen since 1960 particularly on the job we are doing in the roads, on the job we are doing in the railways and the job we are doing in the dredging of the Niger”.
He also stated that : “That promise was made since the Tafawa Balewa administration in the 1960s, no government was able to fulfil it, this is courageous and has never been achieved by any government. “So let me say that we are moving, the President is matching his promises with action. “
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