Importers Still Lose Billions to Public Holidays despite FG’s Executive Order

ABIOLA Seun |

Nigerian importers still lose several billions of naira to lack of operation at seaports on public holidays, weekends and nights, investigation has shown.

This is coming over one year after the acting President; Prof. Yemi Osinbajo signed executive order and directed 24 hours operation at Nigerian seaports.

Prof. Osinbajo had mandated Customs, the Nigerian Port Authority, Service providers and other government agencies to commence 24 hours operation.

The order was aimed at eliminating the negative impact which none clearance of goods on weekends and public holidays has on the cost of doing business at Nigerian seaports.

However, stakeholders argued that the ports are essential services obligated to remain open at all times including weekends and public holidays. The concession agreement also stipulates 24/7 round the clock operation at the ports but while skeletal services are experienced on Saturday, the port system is completely shut for operations on Sundays and public holidays.

It is also of higher interest of the larger port community that the ports remain open every day for both ship and landside operations because storage charges and demurrage accrue on these days that the ports are not in operation thereby adding to cost of doing business at the seaports.

Also, 24/7 operations it is believed, provides the necessary spread to eliminate congestion and unnecessary backlog of consignments inside the ports. It also makes the ports a lot more efficient.

But, clearing agents, customs and other stakeholders have identified bad road, insecurity and poor lightening as obstacles to implementation of 24-hour port operation.

The Customs Area Controller of the Tin-Can Island Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Compt. Musa Baba Abdulahi, attributed the non-effective implementation of the Federal Government Executive Order that the Lagos ports should operate on a 24 hours basis to the current state of port infrastructure.

Abdulahi said while the command commenced round-the-clock operation, security around the port environment, bad state of the road and lacks of power supply were some of the challenges hindering the full implementation of the 24-hour port operation.

“We operate 24 hours. Officers work on Saturday and Sunday. But there is the issue of infrastructure too. That is why I emphasized that the whole thing about trade facilitation is not about customs procedure alone. For example, what has customs got to do with lighting of the port? Do you ask an agent to come to this place in the night and then there is no light?

“So some of these things are beyond customs but the impression is whatever has to do with the port, it is the customs. That is why I was emphasizing then that, you really need to separate these things. Assuming a vessel arrives our waters, even before arrival, the shipping companies are supposed to send manifest. It is their responsibility not customs’. So if there is any delay, it is not caused by customs.”

Speaking on why 24 hour port operation is not yet visible, the Association of Nigerian Licenced Customs Agents (ANLCA) sought the provision of port roads, security and lighting the port access roads for night operation to commence.

The National Publicity Secretary (NPS) of ANLCA, Joe Sanni who called for automation of operations by terminal operators to achieve government directives said the executive order operates merely on paper.

“Let me start from when we met the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, MS Hadiza Bala-Usman she lamented MDA are not helping her at all when Government said there shouldn’t be more than seven or eight agencies at the port but we still have agencies like plant quarantine and the rest. They are not supposed to be there at all but they are there and partaking in examination and add to signatures needed to clear cargoes at the seaports.

“There is no 24 -hour operation at the seaports presently because of the road which are bad, security and lighting so the executive order is just on paper for now until government fixes the roads, provides security and lights up the port access roads.”

“Also, the stakeholders must automate their process so that we don’t have people running around unnecessarily and truck drivers have to look for their trailer parks and containers should be dropped at various holding bays.”

A front line clearing agent, Adegbite Babajide confirmed to our nigeriamaritime360.com correspondent that apart from the gate that operates on weekends and skeletal service on Saturday, the port systems is totally shut on public holidays with no operations at night.

“Apart from the port gate, no other customs unit work on public holiday and Sunday.”

On operation of terminal operators on weekends, he said, “Grimaldi doesn’t do night shift but container terminals do night operation while Customs doesn’t work on Sundays and public holidays but skeletal operation on Saturdays by some of their officers.

“Though a times, when there is congestion at the ports, everyone both operators and government agencies operates on Saturdays and Sundays.

“Terminal operators do come to office on Saturdays but their jobs are skeletal which are mainly writing Terminal Delivery Order (TDO) and load containers on trucks but they don’t come to office on Sundays.

When asked about positioning of containers for examination, he said terminal operators only do those on weekends and public holidays only when there is congestion at the port. Sunday operations at the ports usually not certain,” he said yesterday.