Faults port operation at Tin-can port

By Godfrey Bivbere

IN a bid to find lasting solutions to problems bedevilling port operators in the Lagos ports, the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents, ANLCA, has constituted a seven-man committee to dig into the situation as well as finding possible solutions.

The committee which was inaugurated last week is expected to turn in its report in two weeks.

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Disclosing this during the National Executive Council, NEC, meeting of the association, the National President, Tony Nwabunike, said that the association is looking forward to finding solution to all the necessary port operations.

He noted that in some ports it was almost impossible for anyone to clear and take delivery of their cargo in two weeks.

The National President of ANLCA, has been mandated to review activities of the association affecting members and put forth ways to correct them.

In his words: “At the National Executive Council, NEC, the decision is that we are going to fix our administrative and operational problems. At the meeting, we set up a seven-man committee to articulate all our problems which will form the opinion of our next meeting.

“How to tackle our problems, we have numerous problems in the port, our members are no longer happy with the way things are going. So we need to tackle it head-on, all of us have agreed.

“The committee is expected to look at port charges, levies, multiplicity of agencies, the gridlock, the trucks, the call-up system of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, PAL, the assessment by Customs and others are supposed to be addressed by the committee.

“If you get to Tin-can today it is a bad house. You cannot even load consignments for one week, two weeks demurrages are piling up, terminal charges are piling up, you cannot even access the port. So what do we do?

“At the end of the day we are the final loaders, we representing the importers. At the end of the day the final consumer has to bear the brunt,” he noted.

On the performance of the Presidential Taskforce of Apapa Road Decongestion, Nwabunike said that the team needs to review its system because all they have done is temporary.

“They need to sit down and finalise permanent way forward, it is very important,” he concluded.

Vanguard