Licensed agents have called on the Nigeria Customs Service to extend the two-week ultimatum given to importers to clear the 905 overtime cargoes lying at different terminals in Lagos State. These agents stated this in separate interviews with The PUNCH in Lagos on Sunday.
The NCS had issued a two-week grace period to importers and agents of 905 cargoes, currently domiciled at various ports in Lagos, to clear them or risk forfeiture to the Federal Government. The service warned that, at the expiration of the two-week grace period, it would initiate the process for disposing of the overtime cargoes.
A chieftain of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, Mr Abayomi Duyile, stated that the two-week grace period is too short. “I think that the time should be extended. It should be extended so that these importers will not lose their investment,” Duyile said. He suggested that the government could help by writing to the shipping companies to subsidize the demurrage.
The National Public Relations Officer of the Association of Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria, Mr Taiwo Fatobilola, also called for an extension of the time, citing poor network issues at the ports. “If you are giving somebody two weeks, under the two weeks, there is no network to work or to pay, then how do you justify the two weeks you give them?” he asked.
Fatobilola also suggested that the government should improve the working conditions for terminal operators before asking them to reduce charges. “If you are telling the terminal owners to reduce the rent, what have you put in place to cushion the overhead costs they are running?” he asked.
A member of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, Mr Stanley Ezenga, said that even a one-year extension would still not be enough for some importers. “Some people haven’t come to clear their cargoes because of financial constraints; they lack the financial muscle,” he said. “So the government should extend it to give room for those who may have the intention to come and clear but are still looking for money to clear.”
The National Public Relations Officer of the NCS, Abdullahi Maiwada, explained that the disposal of overtime cargoes is a continuous process. “It is a routine activity, whenever you have an item that hasn’t been cleared, the law says you give that person 30 days,” he said.
“If they can’t clear it, it would be moved to the zonal office and after some days, if they are not cleared, the cargoes would be moved to headquarters and if the importer fails to do that, the items would be condemned in the court of law and it will be published in the newspaper inviting the person to come within two weeks to clear the item.”
