Comptroller Edike’s Effort Yields Fruits in Apapa Customs efforts towards simplifying cargo clearing in Apapa Port, Lagos, coupled with Global scan determination to improve efficiency of operation may have begun to show positive impacts in the number of containers presently being scanned in Lagos. The Customs Area Comptroller, Charles Edike who confimed this recently in his office said not fewer than 200 containers were now scanned daily, from a lack luster lower figure, when the company firt took over the management of equipment wholly installed by the Cotecna Destination Inspections group. “There has been some improved business activity at the Apapa Area 1 Command now as up to 200 containers are being scanned daily”, observed Edike, pointing out that the development had also assisted in boosting trade facilitation. The Customs command boss who also highlighted that about 1,380 containers had equally been transferred out of Apapa Command, in other to accelerate quick delivery of examination and evacuation by the agents, said he was leaving no stones unturned, in his bid to ensure faster cargo delivery and increase revenue, stressed that at this point, what was of utmost importance to him was no longer his command revenue, but the overall revenue of the Service. “What is important to me now is no longer how this command would beat its revenue target, but of how the Service would meet and exceed its annual target”, he stated, adding that every CAC had presently been intimated to prioritize the overall goal of the Service in terms of trade facilitation and revenue generation; rather than the myopic goals of the individual commands’ aims at beating targets. Comptroller Charles Edike said while the initially low number of containers scanned had become a subject of acrimony between the freight forwarders and port operators, the quick intervention of the Customs Service had genuinely doused tension, . Edike also said because of the need to facilitate clearing process, the Command had to re root some containers for physical examination adding that he was optimistic that the tempo will increase. He said the transferring of the containers to other Lilypond and other ICD was to accelerate trade in the ports. According to him the maritime industry is the second revenue generation earning for the country and therefore all hands must be on deck to boost the economy of the country. He said some of the successes achieved in the area of revenue generation can be attributed to the educative reportage by the press which encourages some of the agents to pay their charges. The CAC said the journalists should not fail to call them to order whenever they err but must be done in a responsible ways noting that immediately he resumed at Apapa, he was confront with series of complains but noted that this necessitated his calling stakeholders meeting to resolve the issues raised. He said although he had N37 billion monthly target but this did not deter him from transferring some of these containers since all the money is being for the entire Nigeria Customs Service as a whole. “We all have the same CGC”, he said.
Posted on: Wed, 07 Aug 2013 22:58:39 +0000
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