FG Moves To Eradicate Physical Examination Of Cargoes At Seaports
. Customs Urged To Enforce Use Of Scanners
. NRC Plans Efficient Evacuation Of Containers From Port Harcourt To Aba
By Sulaimon Salau
Poised to ensure ports efficiency and competitiveness, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, Minister for Transportation, Said Ahmed Alkali and Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adeniyi have agreed that physical inspection of cargoes at the ports must be phased out.
They reasoned that the use of modern technologies like scanners was important to addressing the issue of port congestion, so as to ensure efficiency and competitiveness.
To this end, the CG of Customs has been charged to enforce the use of scanners at the ports, just as they encouraged private investors to come in and invest in the deployment and maintenance of scanners at the nation’s ports.
These are contained in a statement jointly signed by the spokesperson to the minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Ismail Omipidan and the Customs spokesman, Chief Superintendent of Customs, Abdullahi Maiwada, on Monday.
According to the statement, the meeting, which was held at the ministry of Marine and Blue Economy and which had the Managing Director of Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Fidet Okhiria attending virtually, also resolved to ensure a new construction that will bypass the fixed scanner at Apapa, so as to ensure the unhindered progression of scanning process during crucial infrastructure development.
Okhiria pledged continued commitment to freight cargoes to Inland container depots/dry ports, a strategic move to alleviate congestion at major ports. Plans were unveiled for the efficient evacuation of containers from Port Harcourt to Aba, with future extensions envisaged for Onne Port.
Against the backdrop of rail track construction, the NRC boss concurred on a pragmatic approach by agreeing to bypass the fixed scanner at Apapa. This ensures the unhindered progression of scanning process during crucial infrastructure development.
Acknowledging the pivotal role of NIIT in actively decongesting ports, the meeting entrusted the Comptroller-General of Customs with the mandate to champion and prioritize cargo scanning over traditional physical examination methods.
At the meeting, immediate action was endorsed to rectify and optimize all existing scanners at prominent ports such as Apapa, Tincan Island, Onne, and PTML. Simultaneously, the existing mobile scanners will be strategically deployed to facilitate expeditious cargo inspections.
The meeting advocated for exploring Public-Private Partnerships to oversee the installation and maintenance of scanning technology. This collaborative model aims to sustain efficiency and foster innovation in cargo inspection processes.
