Efforts by the Controller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi to reduce congestion, and ease the cost of doing business at the ports may suffer set back with the poor power outages and worrisome security challenges at the terminals.
Recently, Adeniyi announced that the Tin Can Island Port would serve a test run for his reintroduction of night clearing of goods, as part of measures to improve ports services.
The move, which has already commenced at the Tin Can Island Port, has been applauded by licensed clearing agents who pledged their cooperation to ensuring the success of the initiative.
Checks by our correspondent have however revealed that, while the 24-hour operation has so far recorded appreciable successes in its first few days, a major hinderance lies in the pervading darkness which currently envelopes most parts of the terminals, leading to unbridled security challenges to both personnels and goods.
The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) whose Vice President, Prince Segun Odutan, and his Western Zone Coordinator, Mr. Femi Anifowose, monitored the operations during the week, pledged their support for the Tin Can Island Command of the Nigeria Customs Service over the commencement of night scanning of containers and weekend operations at the foremost port.
During a courtesy visit on the Customs Area Comptroller, Tin Can Island Port, Comptroller Dera Nnadi, after the tour, Oduntan pledged to speak to his members and educate them on the need to embrace the night operations introduced by the command and the weekend operation of the Customs.
He disclosed that his team toured the enforcement unit, cargo releasing department, scanning site, Ashaye, and Tin Can second gate exits where customs officers were seen, busy working.
Applauding the operation, Oduntan however lamented that, due to the forthcoming Yuletide gridlock is gradually returning to Tin Can Port corridor, which has led to hike in haulage charges.
Oduntan said: “We are going to talk to our members and tell our people that there’s a new solution that is in town. I hear that part of the complaint against Customs night operations is that our people are not coming. There was an era where our members suffer a lot to bring out trucks from this port, that era is gradually returning
“Now, due to the NPA Eto Call-Up racketeering, the cost of haulage has increased, the haulage cost that came down as low as N250,000 and N300,000 is now increased to N800,000 and N1.2 million.
“ANLCA being the foremost association, we are ready to buy into and give assistance to the Tin Can Island command. You are starting this now, and you are the Pilot Phase, definitely, all others will follow suit”.
Responding, Nnadi stressed that Nigerian ports are supposed to operate 24 hours just like their counterparts across the world.
He explained: “The world does not sleep. When they’re sleeping in Nigeria, someone in China is awake loading container. When China is sleeping, Europe and America is awake loading containers. So, it behoves on us to also be awake 24 hours to receive and to exit these containers.
“In Nigeria, ship side operation is 24 hours. Certain aspects of the ship side operation is 24 hours. Certain aspects of custom work like enforcement and gate operation is 24 hours. Boarding and remodeling is 24 hours.
“But the nation has not, or is yet to attain the level where basic operations like delivery of import loading cargo is achieved in the night. So we come to work by 8 o’clock in the morning. And like basic civil servants by 5, 6 in the evening, everybody is going home.
“We had to scan containers in the night. Rather than close the offices usually by 4.30 or 5.30 pm, we need to extend it to 8 pm. We tried that and it worked, so we decided to extend it further.
“The first day we started, we scanned 56 containers. We said since it worked, we scanned up till 2 am. Before we stopped.
“Now, let those of us who enforce delivery of cargo outside the port work overnight too. We have started it, and it is working”.
Nnadi, who displayed the long list of ships discharging at Tin Can Port to the ANLCA Vice President, further said: “We also introduced weekend operation. I issued a port order where I said that the owanbe (social event) mentality around the port environment should stop; officers and freight forwarders and indeed all port operators should come to work on Saturdays and Sundays to help ease condition in the port.
“If you don’t come to work on Saturdays and Sundays, shipping companies and terminal operators would collect their money, they collect their due money, there is no exemption for weekends”.
On the fears arising from poor lightening and insecurity at the terminals, Nnadi said that the customs Command had agreed with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to provide security for night operations with NPA lightening up the entire port environment.
The Comptroller also said: “I called a meeting of the port manager, Tin Can Island Port with TICT Terminal and Five Star Logistics Terminal. We held the meeting just yesterday and I got the commitment of NPA that they will mention it to their Managing Director and to the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy to illuminate the port.
“According to them, the entire port environment will be illuminated, it will not just end within the port corridor alone, the entire perimeter of the port corridor too will be illuminated.
“Then we also agreed that security will be provided from the port here, from the first gate up to Mile 2. Security will also be provided from the second gate up to the breweries in Ijora Axis,
“Part of what we also agreed was that the markets around the port environment should be streamlined, not to constitute nuisance, but to be part of the port community that will add value.
“It was a very honest meeting where all of us agreed that the achievement of 24-hour port operation outside ship side operation is achievable.
“Sadly, no single clearing agent was around to join us. Yes, my officers were complaining that the exercise may not work, that it may not be actualised because agents are not coming. If we give up now, they will also give up.
“We will continue until the clearing agents themselves and other stakeholders embrace the concept. So I am using this opportunity to appeal through ANLCA to the freight forwarders and the agents to join us in the night operation, and in the weekend operation.
“The night operation is particularly important at Ashaye Gate because every night, trucks are loaded but they cannot go out; when they get to the gate, they park.
“In the morning when I go out there to confront the drivers, they will tell me that the agent is not here to pass them. When I ask the agent, they say that they are afraid to exit the port in the night because the port corridor is not safe. Of course, it is true.
“There have been cases in the past when containers were broached atop the bridges as they are going to owners’ warehouses. However, since NPA and the minister are already in discussions on how to provide security along the corridor, I hope that the situation will become a thing of the past.
“On our own part, going by what we did at the scanning site, we made arrangements for food vendors. Bearing in mind that those that work there in the night will have to eat if they are hungry, we have spoken to our medical unit to be on standby at the scanning site
“Just like we succeeded with the barge operation when I wrote the first memo reinventing batch operation in the port, I hope we will also succeed”.
