Clearing agents operating at nation’s seaports, have applauded the Port Standing Task Team (PSTT) for successfully putting an end to the era of illegal cargo sample collection at the ports.
LEADERSHIP reports that the before the PSTT was established in December 2020 by the presidency and domiciled under the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), officials of the Nigeria Customs Service(NCS); the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the National Agency for Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), take samples of regulated imported items for test to ensure compliance with safety standards without returning to the importers.
However, speaking at a meeting of the enlarged task team held at the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) secretariat, the vice-president, National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Alhaji Kazeem Adua, said, before the coming of PSTT, importers and their agents were losing millions of naira to illegal picking of cargo samples by various government agencies at the port.
According to him, most importers would not pay their clearing agents because almost half of the cargo has been pilfered under the guise of sample collection.
Adua, however, commended the National cordinator of the PSTT, Moses Fadipe, for placing Nigeria back on the right pedestal in international port procedures.
He said: “I want to commend the task team that you people have done very well. The coordinator of the PSTT, Comrade Fadipe has credibility, unlike the previous task teams who did not achieve anything at all. Under your watch, you have done well, we have to give you kudos for that, it was a difficult task, many people thought you cannot do it, but God in his infinite mercy has helped you, you have done well, and we as agents are very happy with you.
“Before now, inside the port terminals, we can do cargo examination three times because NAFDAC, Directorate of Secret Service (DSS), and other agencies would tell you they are not satisfied, and that you should go and reposition the container.
“But under your watch, once we have done examination, nobody calls for re-examination again. Also, they take samples from our containers and they never return them. As agents, for instance, we could charge an importer N2million for services, the importer would only give N1million and tell you that when the cargo was delivered without any missing sample, he would pay your balance.
“However, by the time we delivered the cargo to the importer, he would tell you that five cartons are missing and he would deduct N500,000 from your balance. We want to thank you specially because, under your watch, all these challenges are no more, they don’t take samples from our containers anymore, you have done very well. We are going to continue to support you.”
Speaking, the national coordinator of PSTT, Comrade Moses Fadipe, said that within the first two months that the Task Team commenced operations, illegal samples retrieved from corrupt government officials filled two twenty foot containers to the brim.
He, however, urged dockworkers to stop picking samples for government officials, saying it’s illegal.
“In the port terminal everyday, government officials go home with product samples, we know that some agencies are allowed to take samples and we know the quantity they ought to carry, but what we are against is taking commercial quantity. You will never see these officers carrying it by themselves, they always use dockworkers to carry it, I am begging you to please, don’t carry samples for anyone again.”
“I have met with the Customs highest authorities and at the command level and I have told them that nobody should go away with samples again. We have made seizures in the last four months and it has filled two twenty foot containers to the brim within two months, we seize samples everyday.
We have a form called sample form, and we now compelled them to fill that form, and ask them to go and call the official that own the sample, but they would never show up.
“We are reaching a stage now, whereby, we would be arresting anyone caught with such samples. Anyone that is being victimised for rejecting to convey samples for any government official should report to the PSTT,” he said.
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