PTML Customs Targets Under 2-Hour Clearance For Vehicles, Others

The Customs Area Controller (CAC), Port and Terminals Multi-Services Limited (PTML), Command, Compt. Joe Anani, over the weekend, pledged to ensure that clearance of imported new and used goods is below two hours.

Speaking during a brief ceremony where he took over from the immediate past Controller, Assistant Comptroller General Tenny Daniyan, the new CAC who commended the successes recorded by his predecessor, pledged to build and improve on the gains achieved by my predecessors in the area of faster cargo clearance, which aligns with the Time Release Study (TRS) programme.

According to Compt. With improved compliance and an efficient system, the command can clear cargoes out of the Seaport in less than two hours.

Comptroller Anani said, “While thanking God and the CGC Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, for the opportunity to serve here, let me state that our journey to succeed must remain a collective task. I am not here to do it alone.

“I hereby call on all customs officers, sister government agencies, private sector stakeholders and the press to support me in our goal to sustain PTML as a model port of excellence, known for security, efficiency and diligent trade facilitation.

“I pledge to build and improve on the gains achieved by my predecessors in the area of faster cargo clearance, which aligns with the Time Release Study (TRS) programme.

“I know that this command holds an outstanding record of a two-hour cargo release time for a compliant RoRo consignment. The keyword here is compliance. With improved compliance and an efficient system, we can do less than two hours.

“Compliance, as the key to trade facilitation, is critical for smooth port operations. It ensures adherence to regulations, reduces delays, mitigates risks, and fosters trust among trading partners. Compliance minimises bottlenecks and enhances efficiency in global trade and PTML cannot be an exception.

“ I want to urge all our stakeholders to imbibe the tenets of compliance because it results in a win-win situation for everyone, saving time and money. Whereas non-compliance leads to interventions, issuance of demand notices, waste of time and possible seizure, detention and arrest. Let’s continue to make this area a great example that it has always been.

“The CGC’s zero tolerance for smuggling will be duly enforced on my watch and I am convinced from my background checks that our stakeholders are on the right track.”

Comptroller Anani listed the successful rollout and subsequent revenue collection and trade facilitation achievements associated with the Unified Customs Management System, also known as B’Odogwu as great milestones that must be improved on.

He also called on all Customs Officers, officials of sister government agencies and private sector stakeholders to join hands with him in the journey to keep the great records of PTML high

Comptroller Anani urged all the stakeholders to stay on the path of compliance as they stand to benefit more from being on the right side of the law at all times. He also promised to enforce the CGC’s zero tolerance for smuggling strictly.

The CAC, which promised to be accessible to all, also sought to ensure that everyone feels free to interact with it directly through visits or virtually.

“Let me use this opportunity to inform you that my office is without a door. I shall be accessible to all, physically and virtually, in the quest to improve our duties. Feel free to interact with me and provide me with all relevant information needed for my success on this assignment,” he stated.

Various stakeholders at the command, while welcoming the new CAC also commended the ACG Daniyan for his outstanding performance in seeing to the success of B’Odogwu from its pilot phase to full deployments across various commands.

They described the ACG’s leadership as outstanding with trail-blazing effects on increased trade, revenue, anti-smuggling and robust interaction with stakeholders.

The President of the Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON), Otunba Frank Ogunojemite, described Daniyan as a man whose records speak volumes positively, while urging him to carry his working zeal ahead into the NCS management team

Chairman of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents, PTML Chapter, Chief Charles Nwarrienne described Daniyan as an excellent officer deserving to be issued a “certificate of project completion” for diligently achieving the success of B’Odogwu from the beginning to a state of consolidation.