Even as the federal government has instructed them to leave the seaports, there are indications that some of the sacked agencies have shifted base to check points along the ever-busy border route in Seme
Some of the ousted agencies which were sighted by Shipping Position Daily last week along the international route, and mounting check points are: Port Health and NDLEA, the Nigeria Army, Standard Organisation of Nigeria(SON),Port Quarantine ,National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC )
Even as the federal government has instructed them to leave the seaports, there are indications that some of the sacked agencies have shifted base to check points along the ever-busy border route in Seme
Some of the ousted agencies which were sighted by Shipping Position Daily last week along the international route, and mounting check points are: Port Health and NDLEA, the Nigeria Army, Standard Organisation of Nigeria(SON),Port Quarantine ,National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC )
Responding to the development , a licensed customs agents at the border; Chief Sam Madubuike alleged that, "the police , quarantine, port health and army are there on the bad road trying to see how to get money from the passengers and operators, which I must say it not making clearing of goods from this end easy"
"Even in the border, we have SON and NAFDAC doing the job of the Police because for any little business you want to transact in the border, you have to go to them and get their permission which I know is not the way to go about it in the border post"
He noted that even at the seaports, it is only when their service is required that they are invited into the ports to perform their function, but at the border; the agencies play a key role in the business of clearing of consignment.
Madubuike further stressed that, "I believe that on your way to the border, you might have seen SON and NAFDAC check points even at Gbaji the port health and quarantine are very instrumental there, but the truth is that such spots where you find them are not conducive for the nature of our business".
The ANLCA chieftain lamented that the presence of the government agencies along the road is an impediment to trade facilitation adding that urgent attention needs to be taken for them to leave the road.
According to him, " the stakeholders in this part of the world cannot do so much because most of them that head some the agencies are indigenes of the communities around and when you make a strong case against them to leave the road they report to the bales and traditional rulers who are powerful people and they might come after you "
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