NPA, Police Reportedly Issue 72Hours Eviction Notice to Illegal Occupants At Apapa Port

By DAPO OLAWUNI

There are indications that the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Police is now set to flush out miscreants and illegal occupants from the Apapa port, especially at the APMT platform where it has been reported that people were sleeping over in the port.

Investigations by DAILY TREND however showed that the eviction notice which was issued on Wednesday was not properly signed by any of the government agencies, further questioning it’s authenticity.

However, credible sources at the APM Terminal platform told our correspondent that the eviction notice was issued by the NPA in response to a recent concern raised by the Chairman of 100% Compliance Team of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) Alhaji Tanko Ibrahim

A highly placed source at NPA who pleaded anonymity, has however blamed activities of Nigeria Customs Service for the crowed witnessed inside the port.

According to the source, the NPA belief is that customs documentation processes should be perfected outside the port at the Customs Processing Centre (CPC) known as long room.
However, the customs have now duplicated another office inside the port where freight forwarders throng on daily basis in order to sign documents.

The source also alleged that uniformed officials were contributing to the crowd at the port and activities of food vendors, saying that these vendors gain access into the port through vehicles of uniformed officials.

“The APM Terminal platform is not under our control, but since it has been reported, we would have to take action.

“The question everybody should be asking is; what brings people into that place? Customs and other agencies clearance. Why can’t they go and do documentation outside the port, why must they do it within the port environment?

“There is a long room outside the port, the people are not supposed to come into the port for signing documents, the port is supposed to be a dry area.
We however do not want this issue to be the case of one agency fighting the other.

“You cannot also place that platform under APMT because if you go to APM terminal, you cannot find these kind of issues.

“When a custom officer is coming into the port, and he is carrying a passenger, they feel they should not be checked. NPA would not grant access to anybody coming into the port to sell food, we have a 24hours food Canteen.
But, people take advantage of their uniforms to bring in people into the port” the source stated

When contacted by DAILY TREND to confirm if customs signed the eviction notice, the Public Relations Officer of Apapa customs command, Usman Abubakar said he was not aware of such notice.

“This falls under the purview of the NPA, but this does not mean that if customs sees anything going wrong they would not correct it, this is the truth of the matter, but officially, it is the sole responsibility of NPA

“So, if there are illegal occupants there and we feel that they are threats to security, we have the right to send them away by issuing eviction notice” he said

Speaking with our correspondent, Taskforce Chairman of Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) Apapa chapter, Hon Frank Aliakor however condemned the eviction notice as not being properly signed and bring explicit.

According to him, there are clearing agents at the APM Terminal platform who are there to carryout their legal operations with the Nigeria Customs Service, and they should not be harassed.

He noted that by law, the port is supposed to operate on 24hours basis. He however condemned that act of trading inside the port and several boxes erected by these traders around the platform, describing them as potential security risks.

“When you come to APM Terminal, there are women there trading, clearing agents are there, and the associations are also there.
We heard that it was Tanko Ibrahim of NAGAFF that instigated the NPA and the Police to come and chase people away from the platform.

“Though the way they place boxes at that place is not good, these boxes are threats of insecurities.
However, the quit notice issued by NPA and Police was not signed by them or by AP Mollar, they only said it is from Management, they only said all illegal occupants should leave there within 72hours from 7th of September. The notice looks illegal.

“We don’t know the people they are referring to as illegal occupants, is it the associations, the clearing agents or the traders?

“Some of the people sleeping inside the terminal are waiting for their containers that are coming out in the night, if the agents are not there in the night, there would be congestion and problems if trying to exit their containers.

“There should not be a total quit notice, clearing agents that are transacting businesses should be able to stay around the platform.

“The government have said that the ports should operate on 24hours basis, but it is only the customs that are always in the port for 24hours. And the customs can release your cargo by 1am or 2am to 4am” he said