Customs brokers plying their trade at the Tin-Can Island port have expressed satisfaction with the present Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) administration led by its Comptroller General, Adewale Adeniyi.
Their endorsement stems from their belief that the incumbent Customs authority is a radical departure from the pains and torture they experienced for eight years under the previous leadership.
Speaking in their different capacity as the members of the Tin-Can Island chapter of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), the Customs Brokers said the one year old administration of Adeniyi as Customs boss has heralded peace and stability at the Customs ports, which they said has led to trade facilitation, boosted revenue collection and bolstered staff welfare.
According to the Managing Director of Rozac International Nigeria Limited, Barrister Ada Akpunonu, “It is a refreshing departure from the past administration when customs brokers were always at loggerheads with Customs administration over its anti-trade, anti-people policies and programmes which created tension and put a lot of stress on freight forwarders.”
Speaking in the same vein were Sunday Oforha, ANLCA sole administrator at Tin-Can port and the Managing Director of Viana Rite Logistics; Alhaji Usman Baba, Managing Director of Lungwu Nigeria Limited; Charles Uba, Managing Director of Pilyke Global Services Nigeria Limited as well as special Assistant to ANLCA president, Emenike; Lolo Nneka and Otunba Olasupo Komolafe, the Managing Director of Ankosstar Nigeria Limited.
“We are really happy with the performance of the present Customs management led by CGC Adewale Adeniyi. We are equally elated by the Customs Act 2023, which allows professionals to take charge of Customs affairs. This has impacted well on Customs operations.
“You can’t compare what obtained now in Customs administration with the previous regime because trained officers are now in charge.
“Some of the challenges we experienced under the previous regime such as duplication of functions and multiplication of task forces are no longer there. This has really helped to facilitate trade,” the Customs brokers explained to newsmen.
The excited freight forwarders claimed that clearance of goods now takes between 24 and 48 hours if importers are compliant.
The Customs brokers, however, lamented the floating exchange rate, which they claimed hampers trade and scares investors from the country. They claimed that this situation has given rise to paucity of cargoes at the port.
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