THE Shippers Association of Lagos State (SALS) has expressed displeasure over the planned reintroduction of pre-destination inspection at Nigeria’s ports.
President of the Association, Jonathan Nicol, told SlyNews that: “Shippers Associations will definitely challenge this move in whatever means to stop the re-introduction of pre-inspection regime. We are in Agreement with the Vice-Chairman of The Association of Nigeria Customs Agent and other well meaning stake holders in this respect. We thought that the National Assembly kicked against the move at one point. Shippers. Association will challenge this move,”
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Customs Service spokesman, Joseph Attach, denied knowledge of such move.
Nichol said that if the new order sails through, “the shippers will be helpless. Government’s will recede. There will be delays in clearing cargo as a result of numerous queries on the inspection documents. Stakeholders will be dissatisfied across board,”
He noted that these are same experience during the dark days of Pre-Inspection.
He said: “With the foreign inspectors, the Nigeria Customs Service will be partially redundant. Their main duties would be taken away by reactionary forces in the name of 1% surcharge.
“There will be no meaningful development in terms of empowerment,” he added.
Nichol said the shipping trade has evolved positively since the eradication of pre-inspection regime, adding that shippers are sacrificing so much to make our local Institutions work.
“The Nigerian Government spent huge sums to train officials of the Nigeria Customs. The entire maritime stakeholders fought hard to bring back the Nigeria Customs to conduct Destination Inspection. The equipment (Scanners) handed over to the Nigeria Customs were dilapidated and was a deliberate ploy to make the Customs Service fail. And now they are scheming to return back to the dark days of Pre-Inspection of cargo,” he said.
