The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has called on the Comptroller General of Customs, Alhaji Inde Dikko Abdullahi to direct the immediate re-routing of all consignments that are currently trapped at the Apapa Scanning Site to Physical Examination.
NAGAFF President, Chief Eugene Nweke made this call when he led top members of the association on a courtesy visit to the customs CGC and his management team at the customs headquarters in Abuja last week.
The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has called on the Comptroller General of Customs, Alhaji Inde Dikko Abdullahi to direct the immediate re-routing of all consignments that are currently trapped at the Apapa Scanning Site to Physical Examination.
NAGAFF President, Chief Eugene Nweke made this call when he led top members of the association on a courtesy visit to the customs CGC and his management team at the customs headquarters in Abuja last week.
Addressing the custom boss, Eugene pointed out that an average of about 700 containers are always scheduled for scanning every day, but that about two-third cannot be scanned as scheduled. According to him, even half of the number that was scanned daily is always having image analysis problems.
“He lamented that many customs valuation officers have neglected e-transaction and rather, they now go to bonded terminals to carry out physical examination of containers”
He described this as “Practices that Promote Systemic Delays, (Multiple Tables) and extortion via high-handedness, for example, the overbearing attitude of Valuation Officers who still go for physical examination at Bonded Terminals, negating the principle of e-transactions”
As a way out of what he described as operational hiccups, Eugene appealed to the CGC to “direct for the immediate re-routing of all consignments trapped at Apapa Scanning Site to Physical Examination”
In addition, he asked the CGC to grant approval for the creation of a NAGAFF-Customs Information Desk in other to strengthen the relationship between both organizations.
Eugene said that the purpose of the visit is essentially to reinstate NAGAFF’s commitment to the principle of responsible partnership and collaboration, “to affirm our support, trust and confidence in the leadership qualities of the management of the Nigeria Customs Service, to pass a vote of confidence on the management team led by CGC Alhaji Dikko Inde (CFR) and to strengthen NAGAFF-Customs relationship”
Also speaking, the Custom Comptroller, Dikko, approved the requests presented by the association even as he alleged that the containers are trapped at the port as a result of the obsolete scanners procured by the destination inspection service providers; Global Scan, Cotecna and SGS.
Dikko told the NAGAFF delegates that the customs had earlier invited the manufacturers of the scanners procured by Global Scan, SGS and Cotecna and had discovered that most of the scanners cannot withstand the work pressure being placed on them.
He pointed out that many freight forwarders have abandoned scanning of containers because of the realization that the service providers are using outdated and refurbished scanners.
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