Most Clearing Agents in Nigeria are not Professionals - ANLCA

By ZION Olalekan |

Coordinator of the Tin Can Island chapter of Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) Alhaji Akanni Balogun has alleged that most of his colleagues; clearing and forwarding agents speaking against activities of terminal operators are not bring professional.

Speaking with nigeriamaritime360.com in Lagos on Thursday, Balogun said that rather than castigate the terminal operators, they should be commended for keeping Nigerian ports functioning till date.

Highlighting vices perpetrated by clearing agents and freight forwarders, the ANLCA Coordinator noted that some of his colleagues deliberately abandon their cargoes at the terminal for more than six months and not willing to pay demurrage. He said the ports are not warehouses.

According to him, when the NPA was running the port, some stakeholders usually forget their cargoes at the port for six months, he said this mentality is still in many of his colleagues.

Also speaking on the activities of Nigeria Customs Service, Balogun said clearing agents are constantly looking for how to cheat the customs system by paying lesser tariff and values than what the customs system recommends.

“Any clearing agent speaking against terminal operators is because they are not serious, if you do the normal thing, for example, on the alert that people are complaining about on the customs side, they should have done the normal thing and alerts would be limited”

“When you go to valuation and they ask you to pay N20, 000 on a cargo, because some people want to cut corners, they would pay N15, 000, when the job is alerted they will start complaining”

“Some of our colleagues are not working as professionals, they would go to the importer to beg for job, the job you are supposed to carry out for N2million, they will promise to do it at N1.8million, what sense do you want to use, is this not stealing?” he said

He however frowned at arbitrary increase in port charges by terminal operators, saying that charges needs to be reviewed upwardly or downwards with the permission of the port economic regulator, Nigerian Shippers Council and the stakeholders.

“To me, the concessionaires are working well, all they need to do is about the unilateral increase in their charges and this is the duty of the government regulatory agency who are in charge, the shippers council, also, we as stakeholders need to seat down with them before they can increase their charges, why are the shippers council allowing them to increase their charges unilaterally. What happens now is that if you pick a container and you deposited N200, 000, because of the bad roads which is one of the problems we are having and it is part of government responsibility”

“Concession is the main reason why Nigerian port is still functioning till date, I remember back then, you may have a container block-stacked at tin-can port for more than three months, if you want to book for examination, you have to wake up and get to the port before six AM and start bribing the operators before they can dig it out. That time we spend 20 thousand to pick one container because they will tell you that they would work in the night”

“When we wrote a letter of complaint to the former NPA managing director, the man told us point blank that terminal operators are investors and they need to recoup their investment, it is wrong for you as an agent to drop your cargo at the port and refuse to pick it, and you are complaining about demurrage, the port is not a warehouse, if you can afford to buy the cargo abroad and ship it to Nigeria, why can’t you look for money to pay the duty and carry your consignment” he said.