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FG To Probe Illegal Collection Of Fees At Ports

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One of the 88 seater standard coaches for Abuja-Kaduna mass transit train services being offloaded from the ship at Apapa Port  in Lagos, yesterday.

One of the 88 seater standard coaches for Abuja-Kaduna mass transit train services being offloaded from the ship at Apapa Port in Lagos, yesterday.

The controversy sur
rounding the alleged illegal collection of Practitioners Operating Fees (POF) at the Onne Port in Rivers State and other ports in the country would soon be a thing of the past.
This is because the Minister for Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chubuike Rotimi Amaechi and the National Security Adviser, have now indicated interest on the matter and are set to look into the allegation critically.
The Tide gathered that already some leading clearing and forwarding associations were summoned for  a meeting last month and the matter is receiving serious attention.
It was learnt that the major clearing and forwarding associations  that have been collecting these fees were petitioned by a faction kicking against the alleged illegal collections which had run into billions of naira.
Our correspondent further gathered that the founder of the Council for the Regulation of  Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), Dr Boniface Aniabonam, recently expressed fresh fears as the council faces challenges with the collection of the Practitioners Operating Fees, as the payment process is yet to be linked with the single windows platform or account of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and other government revenue collecting agencies.
Aniebonam also picked holes in the method of collection, stressing that there were too many loopholes for freight forwarders to exploit, but stressed the need for members to pay the POF since part of the money would be utilized by the association to develop capacity of their members.
Similarly, it was also revealed that the President of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Chief Eugene Nweke warned members to pay the POF as they owe a duty to pay if they did not pay they should be ready to face Jail terms.
According to him, the National Assembly and the Ministry of Justice have been notified of the collection, which he said was an indication that freight forwarders have come of age.
Despite all these developments, there is a fresh move to ensure that these fees are no longer collected because no one had accounted for the ones so far collected.
It would be recalled that the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian  Shippers’ Council (NSC), Hassan Bello recently directed the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) to stop all forms of fee collection at Onne seaport.
The Tide correspondent gathered that Bello, who was represented by Chief Cajatan Agu  handed down the warning during a town hall meeting organized by the South-South Zone of the council in Port Harcourt Rivers State, frowned at the continued report of ANLCA collecting  professional fees at Onne Port, as the activities are impeding smooth clearance of goods at the port.
He stated that as the ports’ economic regulators, they would only promote programmes aimed at facilitating trade and fast-track clearing.

 

Stroies from Collins Barasemeye

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Fall Off Container Crushes Woman To Death

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Tragedy struck on Friday, when a fully loaded 40ft container fell from a Mack truck and crushed a woman to death along Lagos, Ibadan Expressway.
The Tide gathered  that the Mack truck was on high speed when the incident occurred around NNPC inward Alapere, Ogudu, along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
A statement made available to our correspondent in Lagos by the Director, Public Affairs and Enlightment Department of Lagos State traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Mr. Adebayo Taofiq, said a fully loaded 40ft Mack articulated truck fell on a Nissan car with registration number ABJ 692BG and instantly killed a woman at the rear of the car, while the car driver survived unhurt with the support of LASTMA officials.
Taofiq confirmed that the driver of the Mack articulated truck with his motor-boy ran away immediately the fatal accident occurred.
He said, according to preliminary investigation, the truck while on a high speed lost control as a result of a brake failure and rammed into a moving Nissan car on motion by N.N.P.C inward Alapere, Ogudu, along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Lagos.
The rescue agencies at the scene of the crash were the LASEMA, Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS), Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service and the Police.
Also at the accident scene were the LASTMA General Manager, Mr. Olalekan Bakare-Oki, LASTMA Director of Traffic Incidents, Event Monitoring, Enforcement and Compliance, Mr. Hakeem Adeosun, and the LASTMA rescue team.
General Manager of LASTMA, Mr. Olalekan Bakare Oki, however, warned motoring public, particularly truck drivers, to stop over speeding and ensure their vehicles are properly checked, including the braking system, before embarking on any journey within or outside the State.
The incident attracted passers-by, who thronged the scene lamenting the unfortunate incident, accusing men of the ports task force of negligence.

 

By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos

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PTML Customs Posts N66.92bn Revenue In First Quarter 2024

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The Port Terminal Multiservices Limited (PTML) Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has presented an impressive revenue record collection for the first quarter of 2024.
According to the Command, it collected the sum of N66,920,181,586.30 as total revenue for the quarter of 2024, which is N22,198,965,809.55 higher than N44,721,215,776.75 collected between January and March 2023, representing 49.6 percent increase.
The Customs Area Controller (CAC) of the Command , Compt. Saidu Abba Yusuf, who described the increase in revenue collection as a laudable feat , said the Command is more committed towards trade facilitation and support government drive for ease of doing business.
Comptroller Yusuf, who thanked the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, for initiating strategies to achieve faster cargo clearance, reiterared that PTML Command under his watch aims to surpass its record of three hour cargo clearance for compliant traders.
According to Yusuf, the launching of time release study (TRS), which is ongoing, and other deliberate efforts by the Comptroller General have contributed in the expansion of terminal space and promoting ease of doing business in PTML.
He also disclosed that the PTML Command has potentials to achieve two hour cargo clearance and surpass its existing three hours record, if port users compliance level is improved upon.
Comptroller Yusuf, who described PTML as one of the safest and most secure environment for RoRo (Roll On Roll Off) and general cargoes, also advised importets and their agents to take advantage of the incentives available for compliant traders such as fast track, advance ruling and possible migration to the Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status.
He reminded port users in PTML of the robust and time conscious dispute resolution mechanism, which has contributed immensely to the revenue collection, trade facilitation and anti smuggling functions of the Command.
While commending the various government and private sector stakeholders for their cooperation and support towards realisation of government goal of revenue collection and prevention of unlawful activities, Comptroller Yusuf expressed optimism that the Command will surpass its annual target for the year.

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Customs Comptroller Lauds Scanning Officers Over Efficiency

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The Customs Area Controller (CAC) of Apapa Customs Command, Comptroller Babajide Jaiyeoba, has commended the officers of the Non Intrusive Inspection Technology Unit (NIITU) for their invaluable contributions to the overall success of the Command.
Comptroller Jaiyeoba, who was on an unscheduled visit to the scanner site, reminded the officers of the importance of team work as a strong basis to sustain the gains of compliance and revenue collection recently recorded by the Command.
According to a statement by the Public Relations Officer, Apapa Command, CSC Abubakar Usman, Comptroller Jaiyeoba thanked Deputy Comptroller, Salamatu Atuluku, the Officer in Charge of scanning site, and encouraged the unit not to be deterred by complaints coming from persons who were made to pay accurate duties to government after issuance of demand notices.
The Customs boss stated that no business person who is made to part with money will be happy with officers that refused compromising the ethics of their job.
He noted that “The main reason for me coming here is to appreciate you. I may not see you, but I have seen your work and I won’t keep quiet about what I have seen about your work. You are doing very well. I just want to encourage you to work as a team. If you don’t work as a team, you give room for outsiders to come in and when they come in, they divide you, and when they divide you, achieving success will be very difficult.
“Do your work without blemish. Once you keep your arm straight, you can stand before anybody. Your work as a Customs Officer is to ensure that you do the correct thing.
“For those of you doing intervention in the form of Demand Notice (DN), there is no body who part with money that will be happy with you. They will want to play intelligent by hiding somewhere. When you fetch them from their hiding place, they become your enemy.
Whatever they write about anybody here will still come down to me and if anybody works well, the onus on me is to defend such a person .
“Just have it at the back of your mind that you owe yourself the duty of doing your work diligently whether anyone comes around as a friend or enemy. It is not enough for you to rest. The reward for hard work is more work. These demands require sacrifice so that you can maintain the status”.

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