… Says Compliance Level yet to rise above 30%***
Freight forwarders have been enjoined to comply with the clearing procedures, in addition to ensuring honest declaration, before they can have reasons to complain of harassment from any quarter, the National Chairman, NAGAFF Compliance Team, Alhaji Ibrahim Tanko has stated.
Speaking at a roundtable program at the International Maritime Press Centre in Apapa, Lagos on Thursday, Tanko lamented that in spite of the efforts of his association, The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, to make importers and freight forwarders embrace compliance as a tool to stop corruption in the port system, the compliance level has not risen above 30 percent.
He emphasized that freight forwarders have no right to complain when they fail to do the right thing.
According to him, no Customs officer will demand for bribe when there are no infractions in the documents submitted.
The Compliance Team leader urged freight forwarders to come together and imbibe the culture of doing the right thing so that nobody will be harassing them in the course of doing their job.
On the return of the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) to the ports, he said he was not against it if it will stop the influx of substandard goods into the country.
Tanko however, wanted SON operatives to tell port operators how they intend to work and improve on standards.
He condemned the act of collecting samples by SON, saying that Importers lose about N3 million daily at each port from this act.
He argued that collection of samples should be done overseas, offshore at the port of loading, and not at the port of destination.
Tanko called on the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigeria Customs Service, and the police to control human traffic at the ports in order to ensure the safety of lives and property as the nation passes through serious security challenges.
He observed that miscreants who have no business doing in the ports are found constituting nuisance to the port operations.
