Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs (ANLCA), has accused the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) of collaborating with  importers to bring arms into Nigeria.
Addressing newsmen in Lagos, Zonal Co-ordinator  (West) of ANLCA and Chief  Executive Officer of Salim International Nigeria Limited, Dr John Ofobike, said that clearing agents are not privy to over 95 per cent cargoes  they clear at the ports, adding that customs cannot feign ignorance of the upsurge in arms import into the country.
He blamed customs for undermining freight forwarders in most of their activities even when it was the agency that licensed them.
According to him, Customs should adhere strictly to the extant regulation of entry as well as train and retrain Customs agents to enable them have a full grasp of security breach.
“We want the government to train us. When the former Controller General of Customs  (CGC), Mr Inde Dikko was on the saddle,  if you are not educated in Customs procedures, you cannot fit in. You cannot clap with  only one hand. Nigeria Customs should train the people they licensed so that when they are moving we will move together,” he said.
ANLCA also accused Customs of collaborating with all manner of unlicensed agents  because of Customs  intention to engage in corruption.
“It is only ANLCA members that possess the licence to operate in the ports. NCS has not protected ANLCA members from this organised individuals whose aim is to perpetrate security breach. If you don’t have anything to do in the ports you should not come to the ports. They have to help us to stem all these mushroom associations. They are giving us a bad name. They are not licensed. They have no reason to be in the ports. They are not registered with the Council for the Registration of Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (CRFFN)”  he said.
According to him, an importer does not  have the audacity to import arms into the country without an insider collaboration. He  wondered  how an importer  will  have the confidence to import arms whose unit cost is over N1 million if he does not have anybody in Customs.
On the crisis between National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) and ANLCA, Ofobike said that the crisis has to do with the Practitioners Operating Fees (POF).

 

Related News