The Association of Nigeria Licenced Customs Agents (ANLCA),  Apapa unit has appealed to terminal operators to ease the burden of clearing cargoes at  the ports.

The chapter Chairman, Mr Olumide Fakanlu, made the appeal in an interview with  newsmen in Lagos.

Fakanlu alleged that some operators were taking up to five days to clear a container.

“The situation is worse at the Tin-Can Island Container Terminal (TICT) where a container takes up to seven days to be cleared in most cases.

“The delay in the positioning of a container has taken toll on the business of clearing agents.

Stressing that: “Besides, the charge for clearing a container differs among the operators.

“For instance, where an operator will charge N100,000, another would accept N60,000 for the same clearance,” Fakanlu said.

He urged operators to follow strictly the rules laid down by the ministry of transport to check congestion at the terminals.

“I am of the opinion that there should be a monitoring team to ensure that the measures put in place by ministry are followed,” he said.

The Managing Director of TICT, Mr Yehuda Kotik, refuted the claim that TICT was charging higher tariffs than other port operators.

“Our charges are the same as other terminals because we offer port services just like others do,” Kotik said.

He said that the congestion at the ports was being caused by clearing agents.

“The clearing agents should be blamed for the congestion because they don’t come to remove their containers after clearance.

He said: “They forget that the terminal is not a warehouse for container storage.”