The newly elected President
of the Shippers’ Association in Lagos State, Mr Jonathan Nicole, has appealed to the customs not to delay cargoes if they did not contain exhibits.
Nicole made the appeal in an interview with our correspondence last Tuesday in Lagos.
According to him, cargo clearance within 48-hour will be a mirage if the Customs continue to delay cargoes which do not contain exhibits for further examination.
He said that many of their members had relocated to neighbouring countries which enforced quick clearance of cargoes.
“Once a container has been scanned and found not wanting, it should be released without delay.
“It is only the ones with red sign that should be dropped for thorough examination.
“The problem of human traffic at the port has been in existence for over 40 years. There is the need for a change.
“Delaying cargoes at the port unnecessarily causes the importer to incur demurrage and this impact negatively on business.
“It is important for Nigerian freight forwarders to return home to contribute to economic growth of the country.
“It is better that Nigerians invest in their country where nobody can send them away.
“We pay too much on demurrage. Government should ensure early clearance of cargoes,” Nicole said.
Mr Chris Osunkwo, Spokesman for Customs at Tin-Can Island Port, told our correspondent that most importers were responsible for the delay in cargo clearance.
According to Osunkwo, majority of importers do “heterogeneous imports” and this can cause delay sometimes.
“This is unlike when the bulk of the imports are homogenous,’’ he said.
He said that most importers were not honest in their declarations.
“There must be honest declaration by the importer or his agent. It is important to do this to achieve the 48-hour clearance target.
“If the declaration tallies with what is inside the container, it makes the work faster, but if not, it creates difficulties,” Osunkwo told our correspondent.