Customs Allocation Paper : Concerns Mount As Scrap Vehicles Litter Ikorodu Terminal

By DAPO OLAWUNI

Stakeholders operating at the Ikorodu government warehouse have raised a fresh alarm that scrap vehicles which have been abandoned at the terminal is jeopardizing the transfer of overtime cargoes to the Ikorodu warehouse.

The stakeholders attributed the challenge to beneficiaries of Nigeria Customs Service allocation papers also known as ‘Lot’ papers for the scrap vehicles to be evacuated.

Our correspondent reliably gathered that the customs management in the bid to decongest the Ikorodu warehouse is selling the scrap vehicles at cheap rates, as low as N30,000.

This is because some of the vehicle have no tyres, engine, gear boxes, brain boxes among others.

Speaking with DAILY TREND, Acting Chairman of Ikorodu chapter of Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) Chief Martins Ikechukwu lamented beneficiaries of the customs lot papers were frustrating evacuation of the crap vehicles.

The ANLCA Acting Chairman however stressed that even though there is enough space at Ikorodu that can accommodate transfer of over 5,000 vehicles, the scrap vehicles needs to be evacuated.

He said “They (beneficiaries) would bring the lot paper from Abuja and re-sell it for N4million, meanwhile if you look on the paper, you would see that the lot was gotten at N30,000.

“All the people coming to inspect the cars are turning back, this means that government is not achieving their aim with the lot allocation.
Without emptying the Ikorodu terminal of scraps, there is no way the new overtime cargoes can come in”

Chief Ikechukwu called on the Nigerian customs to put an expiry date on the lot papers, so as to discourage beneficiaries from abandoning it at the terminal.

“The customs should put expiry date on lot papers as they were doing on overtime auction. It should be fourteen days expiration.

“Most of the vehicles are scraps without brain box, tyres and most essential parts have been removed. They are mostly towed out of the terminal.

“The lot should follow the example of the online auction which has a period of expiration, they should be given 14-days to take their vehicles out of the Terminal, the government did not design Ikorodu terminal to be a car sales centre.

“I am sure the government is not aware that the beneficiaries were placing exorbitant prices on these vehicles.

“None of the vehicles can start on their own, they are towed with towing vehicles, they have no tyres, some have no engine or gear box.
How can you sell such a vehicle for N4.5million and we are expecting this place to be evacuated” he said