Femi Anifowose Leads ANLCA Chairmen to Police AIG Maritime, Advocates Stoppage of Container Blocking At Ports
L-R: ANLCA’s Western Zone Coordinator, Alhaji Femi Anifowose, AIG Maritime, Garba Musa, and the ANLCA Western Zone Secretary, Alhaji Idowu Owoade
By DAPO OLAWUNI
The Western Zone Coordinator of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) Alhaji Femi Anifowose last week Thursday led Chairmen of the various chapters of the association in the West on a courtesy visit to the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of Maritime, AIG Garba Musa.
Alhaji Anifowose and his entourage were personally received by the AIG Maritime at the Command’s headquarters, Kam Salem house, Obalende, Lagos.
Speaking at the end of the closed door meeting, the ANLCA leader said that the essence of the visit was purely to familiarise the various chapters of the association with the AIG Maritime and to itemise the various challenges confronting each of the chapters in the hands of police officers.
Over time, the ANLCA leader said there has been a rise at the spate at which containers are being blocked indiscriminately by police officers at the port.
Our correspondent gathered that blocking of already cleared containers at the port is inhibiting the ease of doing business as the cargoes are made to pay demurrages. In most cases, clearing agents have allege that they are made to part with money as high as N300,000, even though nothing offensive is discovered in the suspected container.
Speaking with our correspondent at the end of the meeting, Alhaji Anifowose said
“It was a familiarisation visit to the AIG maritime, since his resumption, we are yet to visit him, so we used the opportunity to inform the AIG about the blocking of containers at the port which is being done by police officers in collaboration with shipping companies.
“The AIG responded that the containers are blocked when Police have intelligence on such cargoes, if it is homogenous containers, they only block one of it and not all of it so that they don’t all go into demurrage” he said
Anifowose however urged all clearing agents to perfect their documentation and always ensure compliance at all times in order to avoid running foul of the extant laws guiding cargo clearance.
