ANLCA Chairman Commends Apapa Customs Over Prompt Scanning, Releasing of Containers

By DAPO OLAWUNI

Chairman of Lillypond Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, Mr Femi Olabanji has commended the Apapa command of the Nigeria Customs Service for responding promptly to operational challenges at the port, even as he attested that scanning and releasing of consignments is now done seamlessly to the joy of port stakeholders.

Olabanji in a chat with DAILY TREND described the Customs Area Controller of Apapa command, Compt Jide Jaiyeoba as a father who has enthroned professionalism.

Recall that Olabanji had recently raised an alarm and expressed frustrations of ANLCA members, saying that scanning of containers at the Apapa Port was being frustrated deliberately by some Customs officers.

He alleged that dully scanned containers were being placed under alert and returned back for repositioning and spanning, a situation that leads to demurrages.

He had urged the Customs Area Controller of Apapa Customs, Compt Jide Jaiyeoba to raise an investigative team and look into the challenges.

But speaking in a separate interview on Tuesday, he said “I gave a report recently on scanning of containers, I later went through the report I made and found out that things has returned to normal.

“I really appreciate the Comptroller of Apapa Customs, immediately he got our concerns, he ensured that everything changed. Even the Deputy Comptroller in charge of scanning, she has performed wonderfully. Now, things have changed and the scanning of cargoes is going smoothly.

“I really appreciate the Deputy Comptroller CIU and the Area Controller for their prompt response, I pray that God will assist them. Right now, every agent is happy because the Comptroller is a father that runs after things and gets it done right.

“The releasing of cargo is also going smoothly now.
I later realised that, after scanning, Customs cannot know the year of manufacturing on the goods, so they need to open some of the containers see the year of manufacturing and determine if they are not expired, it is not that customs want to frustrate agents” he said