Joyce Mmereole Okoli
In a significant move to bolster trade facilitation and enhance port efficiency, the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adewale Adewale MFR, met with Mohammed Bello-Koko, Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) on Thursday, January 25, 2024.
The purpose of the meeting was to explore avenues for collaborative efforts to streamline processes at the ports and foster a more conducive environment for trade. The CGC emphasized the shared commitment between the NCS and NPA towards achieving enhanced port efficiency.
“NPA desires to achieve port efficiency, and we believe that in customs, Ports efficiency will help to facilitate trade. NPA, in all its programs, tries to improve the competitiveness of our Ports, and this aligns with our vision”.
“We want to make our Ports more efficient. When our Ports are more efficient, it will translate into better efforts in revenue generation. So anything and everything that will help to reduce the time and the cost it takes to conduct business in our ports are those things that we are going to be exploring in collaboration with NPA”. He stated.
To make the ports more efficient, the CGC proposed the deployment of technology, citing the use of scanners as an example.
“If we want to make the port more competitive, more efficient, then we have to deploy technology, the use of scanner is an example, if we deploy scanner to examine goods, rather than subject them to hundred percent examination, that’s one way to make them faster and more efficient”, he said.
In addressing the challenge of cargo clearance delays, the CGC outlined plans for technological advancements, including the expansion of the fast track system and the introduction of the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) program in the first quarter of the year.
“We are building our risk management. We are expanding fast track; we are going to get into AEO in the first quarter of this year so that more of our companies will not have their containers subjected to a hundred percent examination”. He explained.
Managing Director Bello-Koko commended the CGC for his swift response to issues and collaborative efforts to improve trade facilitation. He acknowledged the positive impact of the export desk initiative and noted an increase in cargo exports.
“The CG of Customs has been quite supportive in ensuring that we improve trade facilitation to make the Ports more competitive and also ensure that the cost of doing business in the Ports is reduced.
“He has worked with us to see that the export desk that was set up is actually functioning properly. And we have seen a great increase, a spike in the quantity of cargo in terms of exports”, he said.
In a bid to expedite cargo clearance, MD Bello-Koko stressed the need for round-the-clock port operations. “We need customs Officers to work on shift for 24-hour Port operation,” he emphasized, highlighting the importance of collaboration among customs, shipping lines, terminal operators, and security to ensure seamless operations.
“We need to be able to clear cargo as quickly as possible. So, we have discussed the issue of 24-hour Port operation, where we need customs Officers to work on shift. That way, you can have cargo clearing and cargo discharge and other things into the next 24 hours.
“But for them to do that, it means you need the shipping lines. You also need the terminal operators and security and everybody needs to actually be on their toes and work 24 hours”. He concluded.
