The Guardian (Nigeria)

Freight forwarders alert customs to expired cargoes at Ikorodu terminal

- By Adaku Onyenuchey­a

THE National Associatio­n of Government Approved Freight Forwarders ( NAGAFF) has called on the board of the Nigeria Customs Service ( NCS) to restore the Ikorodu terminal/ government warehouse as expired overtime cargoes litter the facility.

The freight forwarders expressed worry that the expired and decomposed goods currently littering the facility is constituti­ng both environmen­tal and health hazards to officers and men of the service, as well as members of the community in general.

The National Publicity Secretary, NAGAFF, Stanley Ezenga, in a statement issued in Lagos at the weekend, said the associatio­n was unhappy with the developmen­t, pointing out that life- threatenin­g reptiles had occupied the place.

The freight forwarders also expressed dissatisfa­ction over failure of the Nigeria Customs Service to perform its statutory responsibi­lities at the Ikorodu terminal/ government warehouse, as enshrined in the Customs and Excise Management Act ( CEMA) Cap 45, LFN 2004, as amended,

“Our associatio­n is therefore imploring the board of the NCS to invoke Sections 4, 5, 6, 12, 13 and 97 of the Customs and Excise Management Act ( CEMA) Cap 45, LFN 2004, as amended, which jointly empowered the board to give direction in the management and administra­tion of the service, as well as the Legal Notice No 700 of 1959, which defined what a government warehouse and its establishm­ent stands to serve and protect.

“We wish to particular­ly point the attention of the Customs Board to Section 31 of CEMA, as amended, which spells out the cargo dwell time at port terminals or government approved warehouse, and the required due time publicatio­n to enable owners of such goods to take delivery, with its attendant forfeiture of such goods to the government if they fail to do so,” he said.

The freight forwarders urged the board of the NSC to urgently restore the facility to its original masterplan to meet the aspiration­s and yearnings of industry stakeholde­rs and Nigerians in general, as well as address the threat to the operations of the service.

The freight forwarders pointed out corruption practices associated with the issue of rents and dues on containeri­zed cargoes at the facility, especially since 2007 when massive movements of containers to the facility commenced.

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