Fresh Cargo Diversion imminent Over Return Of NAFDAC To Seaport

By Funso Olojo |

Shippers, Importers and Clearing agents operating at the nation’s seaport have threatened cargo diversion to neighbouring countries over return of sacked government agencies to the ports.

Speaking recently, the President, Shippers’ Association of Lagos State (SALS), Rev. Jonathan Nicol and the National vice president of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Kayode Farinto said the return of National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to the ports will further increase cargo dwell time at the ports.

Recall that the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA),sacked the NAFDAC, Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) and other agencies from the port.

However, the Director General of NAFDAC, Professor Christianah Adeyeye, said in collaboration with relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and with the active support of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), NAFDAC is returning to ports and borders to “effectively control the importation of narcotic drugs and chemical substances identified to be grossly abused and posing public health and security threats to the nation”.

In a sharp disagreement with the DG, while SALS said the Nigeria Customs Service is equipped to perform the job of NAFDAC at the port, Farinto said the agency should key into the NICIS 11 of the Customs Service instead of returning to the port .

Nicol said, “I think by and large everyone is getting wiser now in the port system and with time we can see that. If the burden of payment of different fees is too much for shippers, the country will lose cargoes and that is the major things we are fighting against but if the government wants all agencies to come to the port, we won’t say no because they are the government but whatever they see let them take”

“The owners of the port is the Nigeria Customs Service and they are well equipped to do what NAFDAC supposed(sic) to do in terms of examination because they have very well equipped laboratory. I think what we noticed is that most of the Ministries when they are broke the next point of call is the port, they will find a way to go into the port to make money but when Dora Akinyuli was handling NAFDAC we are not having problems at all. So, I don’t know what they forget that they want to take back,” he queried

“Return of NAFDAC won’t simplify business because the ease of doing business is to ensure that it reduces cost of doing business first then there will be ease of doing business because people will be happy to come to Nigerian Port but when there are too many bottle necks on clearance of cargoes, Shippers will run.”

On his own part, Farinto argued that returning NAFDAC to the port is an affront on the government ease of doing business.

According to him, the government has moved 20 steps backward and increased bottle necks in the cargo clearance process.

“There is nothing like ease of Doing Business again and I have said it, that, ease of doing business is dead because practically, the government is killing ease of doing business with policy inconsistencies.

Return of NAFDAC will add additional bottle necks , and now that majority of this agencies are online and have their Standard Operating Procedures SOP with NICIS 2 of the custom, NAFDAC can work better in their offices than coming back to the port.”