Mr. Ugochukwu Nnadi is the Chairman of the Port and Terminal Multipurpose Limited (PTML) Chapter of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF). He has indeed been around that place for long, he has been clearing vehicles from the terminal since when it was just a satellite car park under the then-Tin Can Island Port command and when PTML became a command of its own, he rose from interim chairman to become the substantive chairman of the chapter. He has been in freight forwarding for the about 16 years, he spoke with our correspondent Dapo Olawuni about issues surrounding operations at the terminal.
How is the relationship between NAGAFF and other associations as well as with government agencies at PTML?
The relationship has been cordial and peaceful, I can tell you that this is one of the most peaceful port, in terms of the controversies surrounding the customs benchmark, here the compliance level has been high, it is a team work because the three major associations here operate as a team and we respect each other’s opinion, even where there are differences we always try and harmonize it, so it has been really cordial. As regards the customs, anytime we have issues with them we make it known, there has not been any friction, it has always been cordial.
How has the removal of SON, NAFDAC and others from the port affected your operations?
It is not that they were removed from the port that their services are no longer needed, but they were told not to be involved in examination, they are only to be called when necessary, and this has helped to reduce the cost of clearing and reduced the time you spend in clearing, before now whenever it’s time for examination, all the agencies had to come and inspect, and after this you have to be going to each one of them to sign on your bill of laden, so before you do all these things it takes you two to three days to process one container, but since they have left, we deliver within 24 hours, so the advantage is that it has reduced the time and money spent, we know that their services are needed, but whenever they are wanted, they will be invited.
Is PTML Terminal working 24 hours, and is 48hour cargo clearance achievable here?
Here, if your container goes to scanning, you will take delivery within four hours, while in other terminals if your container goes to scanning, it will spend three days, but here it is very harmonized and nobody troubles you, people prefer their container to go into scanning here. On the examination time, the terminal has been so modernized whereby the shipping companies operate one-stop-shop, you can give them your bill of laden in advance for them to give you an estimate of what you are going to pay on a consignment, you know we are now talking of cashless policy whereby you have to go to the bank and buy bank draft, you can email your bill of laden in three seconds and they will give you an estimate of what you are supposed to pay on your container, in other terminals you don’t have the privilege of getting estimates in advance, so these things assist us in doing business, I still stand to be corrected that here, we deliver container within 24 hours, and if it is vehicle, we can deliver the vehicle within six hours, also here you can’t see container trucks lining up along the access road, it is only on the exit side where some trucks from other terminals have blocked the exit gate. Here they operate 24 hours. But with regards to documentation and the rest, Nigeria is not yet ripe for it, personally I will not encourage it because I can’t imagine myself staying here up till 11pm in the night or leaving my house at that time to come here in order to track a container, this is not visible for now.
PTML Custom command recently announced that it was making arrangements for weekend banking to assist agents in transactions, is it a welcome idea?
It is a welcome idea because it is just like when you talk of cashless policy, if the banks are operating on weekends, we can easily move into the banks for business and take our delivery, here we even take delivery on Sundays, if you finish all your documentations on Saturday, you can come on Sunday and take delivery of your cargo, but for now the banks are not operational, the one that has been paid on Friday is what you pick on Saturday and Sunday, if it is approved for the banks to commence weekend operations, we will love it.
You and your members appear to be enjoying a cordial relationship with the new PTML CAC, why, considering the running battle the chapter once had with a CAC?
The bible says that ‘when the righteous is on the throne, the people rejoice, but when the wicked is on the throne, there is gnashing of teeth’. If you know what is right and you do it and I also do what is right, then we will not have to misunderstand ourselves, but where you always want to have your way, that is when there will be friction, where a process has been put in place and all of a sudden, somebody comes around and tries to upturn everything, it will not go well, there has to be division of labour, everyone performs a function, this will allow for trade facilitation, but where this is obstructed you will see conflicts and friction, but if everyone complies with whatever they are asked to do, for example when you are supposed to appear for examination, for release and so on, there won’t be any problem, and it has been like this and I believe it will continue like that. The time that we used in dialoguing and confrontations is now being used to improve on our revenue, if you look at our revenue now compared to when we were quarrelling, you will see that it is better now and this has transcended to all areas of our operations.
Recently, we heard that there is cross releasing of cargoes at PTML Mile-2 terminal, is this true?
It is miss-presentation of facts, sometimes when a vessel comes, they allocate some cars to mile 2 and some to the terminal here, because of how fast the process is here, they have to take it from the ship to the canal side with badges, in the process of taking it from ship side to canal side, somebody may have finished documentation and wants to take delivery, but on getting there, you discover that it has been taken to mile 2, and when you get there all they have to do is to cross- check the documentation that has been done here, once it corresponds with what they have, you will go ahead and take your delivery, so there is nothing like double clearing because already the bill of laden has been utilized, or are you going to manufacture another bill of laden?
But some agents have alleged that, to pick your cargo at that point, custom still subjects you to other unnecessary payments, how true is it?
We are complying but we have some bad eggs here and there, there may be a situation where somebody tries to beat the gun, and the person knows that what he is doing is wrong, trying to maneuver and find his way out, but when he gets to mile2 now he meets a different thing altogether, the person is on his own. Even in the customs we know that there are bad eggs, in every setting there will always be a Judas, the person may have connived with one custom man or the other to evade duty somewhere, by the time he gets to the next one to pick up his consignment, he will be asked to go and make up for such flaws that have been carried out.
In your last meeting with the CAC did the issue come up?
Yes, somebody brought it up and it was looked into, and even since after that time the issue has come up again and again, but just like I said, if somebody was carrying a consignment and he did not pay duty for the consignment, by the time he went to take delivery he sees that he cannot, he now has to go through the next channel, he was asked to start all over again because he refused to clean up his act.
Recently we heard that duty payable on cars have increased at PTML, how will you now compare the cost of clearing here with other terminals?
Let me start with the duty margin, yes, duty have been increased on cars but not substantially, it is just a minor jacking up, another thing is that the officers that are sent here are professionals, if you go to other ports they may not be experienced as the people that are here. For example we have classes of vehicles, we have passenger vehicles and private vehicles, we have work or special people vehicles, in private vehicles you are charged based on engine capacity, but if it is a passenger vehicle it will be looked at based on passenger capacity, if it is construction vehicle it is based on load capacity, but when you go to other ports, they muddle all these things together and appraise them by engine capacity, for example, passenger vehicle may be 10%, while special people vehicle may be 5%, while private vehicle pay between 25% to 30% either cars or jeep, in other terminals they don’t do this. For example if you have a commercial vehicle that ordinarily should pay 10%, if you go to other ports and they see that it has a 3.0 engine, they will access you based of 35%, you end up paying higher that the duty you are supposed to pay, if such a person had come here he would have paid 10%, these are what people look at and say that PTML is cheaper, it is not that it is cheaper, it’s just that things are done professionally; the way they should be handled and everybody benefits, nobody is unduly punished for what they did not do.
What is your take on the much talked about commencement of TIN?
It is a welcome idea, but my only problem with it is that, in taking the TIN, not everybody is so literate as far as ASYCUDA is even concerned, let every command of the custom create a department, people heading it may not even be customs they may sent direct from the internal revenue department to operate at every port so that they can give enlightenment to people, it is a good idea.
What is your impression of the recent visit of the CRFFN to NAGAFF headquarters?
The visit is a good one and a welcome idea, I know that in Nigeria many things are on paper and are hardly cross- checked, but haven been there now they can better be convinced, and we that saw them and heard directly from them have learnt a lot from their presence, before their coming, people thought they were part of the elected team of CRFFN, it was later that they realized that these are the management team, without such an interaction, people would not have known, we are happy they came and they left with a different impression.
What do you think is the best solution to the chaotic traffic situation on the approaches to the Apapa and Tin Can Port?
The best solution is discipline, these drivers are not disciplined and the security operatives are not helping issues, there has to be some punitive measures against all these drivers, some of them are queuing on the line, but some will not want to queue, they will be looking for short cuts, so I believe that if there is discipline on the side of the driver and the operatives it will help a lot, sometimes you see them turning at the wrong point and the security operatives will be there watching them. Another thing is that if you see these drivers, many of them are very young, truck owners should try and employ older men from 50 years and above, they are more reasonable and have something at stake, but many of these boys are less than 20 years old.
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