By Izuchukwu Ozoemena

For the umpteenth time, freight forwarding associations on one hand and various factions of the maritime press on the other have been charged to sink their differences and come under one formidable roof. This, the Comptroller- General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi says, is giving confusing signals to policy makers that should address issues concerning them.

Discordant tunes arising from lack of a united platform, CGC Adeniyi regrets, makes it difficult for policy makers to consult them on vital policies affecting their welfare.

Adeniyi expressed his concerns in Lagos, Thursday, during the Award and Dinner night organized by the maritime media to honour him for exemplary leadership as the helmsman of the Customs.

During the event which was attended by maritime journalists, top customs officers (retired and serving), freight forwarders and friends as well as well-wishers of the celebrant, Adeniyi said freight forwarding groups must come together and speak with one voice so that government can respect and find it easier to consult them on policies affecting the industry and their personal interests. Re-echoing the stand of Rotimi Amaechi, former Transportation Minister years back, Adeniyi equally said different factions in the maritime media must also collapse into one formidable body to stand to demand for rights and privileges that have eluded them for years.

” The story of customs agents is similar to that of maritime journalists in terms of proliferation of associations”.

” There are so many discordant tunes coming from the freight forwarders which do not help the policy makers.”

” The policy makers want to respect them by consulting them on matters of policies about their profession but the discordant tunes coming from them make it difficult for such consultations”

The CGC therefore pleaded with the confraternity of the freight forwarders to come together under one umbrella for them to present unified position to government on matters affecting their industry.

He therefore charged both Prince Shittu Olayiwola, the former National President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents(ANLCA) and Alhaji Akeem Olanrewaju, the Chairman of the Customs Consultative Council( CCC) to spearhead the unification drive of the freight forwarding associations, given their vantage positions in the freight forwarding industry.

It could be recalled that there are more than five freight forwarding groups which are recognized by the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria(CRFFN), the government regulatory agency in the freight forwarding industry. These include ANLCA, NAGAFF, Council of Managing Directors, AREFF.

It could also be recalled that the freight forwarders often accused the government of not carrying them along in some of the policies affecting their profession.

Recently, the agitated customs brokers accused the Customs of not consulting them before the 4 per cent FOB charge was imposed on them, a protest which made the Customs to suspend the fee for enough consultation.

In the same vein, the CGC equally admonished the maritime media to collapse the multiple associations among them which he said has been impeding efforts to access opportunities for them in the maritime industry.

He believed that their unification will enable them to access welfare opportunities from stakeholders.

He noted that there are opportunities which the maritime journalists could
assess easily only if they come together under one umbrella.

Adeniyi disclosed that a unified maritime media should be thinking of how to improve their welfare, noting that most of them have paid their dues in the industry.

He advised them on how they could explore opportunities in providing life insurance package for themselves as well as housing mortgage so they could have decent accommodations for themselves.

The CGC promised to lead the crusade for better welfares for maritime journalists among other heads of government agencies only if they could come together as one body.

He believed that the unification task is possible as the maritime journalists have exemplified by coming together to honour him.

Six associations of maritime journalists came together to honour Adeniyi for his impactful leadership which they unanimously agreed was worth celebrating.

These groups of maritime journalists include the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN), League of Maritime Editors (LOME), Association of Maritime Journalists of Nigeria (AMJON), Maritime Journalists Association of Nigeria (MAJAN), Shipping Correspondents Association of Nigeria (SCAN), Online Maritime Media Association of Nigeria (OMMAN) and Congress of Nigerian Maritime Media Practitioners (CONMMEP), as well as those who do not belong to any association.

By Izuchukwu Ozoemena

Prince Olayiwola Shittu, former National President, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) says the suspension of the 4% FOB duty collections is a huge relief to importers and Customs agents, attributing this to the well-informed advice of the Controller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi.

Prince Shittu was speaking in Lagos, Thursday, when he chaired an event for the presentation of “Iconic Maritime Personality of the Year Award 2024” to the CGC by Nigerian Maritime Journalists.

Going down memory lane, Shittu noted that the CGC was instrumental to his success as the National President of ANLCA as he always guided him with good advice. He congratulated the CGC for the well deserved award coming from maritime journalists, the watchdog of the sector.

In his remarks, Chairman, Customs Consultative Council, Alhaji Hakeem Olanrewaju, eulogized the CGC and congratulated him for being jointly celebrated by the entire maritime press.

He advised attitudinal change on the part of licensed
Customs agents to fit into the present realities in the freight forwarding business.

The Vice President, ANLCA, Prince Olusegun Oduntan, commended the CGC for being a grassroots leader who listens to the people. He promised that ANLCA would continue to partner with Nigeria Customs under the CGC’s leadership.

In his own speech, the National President, Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON), Otunba Frank Ogunojemite described the CGC as a downright good man and a natural leader. He stated that the CGC was his class captain in the university and later the President of the department. He added that he was a sports enthusiast who later became the leader of Man ‘o’ War.
Describing him as extremely patriotic and very humble, he said that the CGC has been keeping his old friends without looking at his present status.

Speaking on behalf of the maritime journalists, Mr. Okey Ibeke commended CGC Adeniyi for his superlative performance which has changed the narrative in Customs.

He gave the CGC thumbs-up for delivering on his mandate in areas of revenue collection, anti-smuggling activities, trade facilitation and others.

He noted that this was the first time journalists from various media houses covering a sector would agree jointly to honour a chief executive officer of an agency. Ibeke pointed out that the unusual agreement was not for sycophancy but to give honour to a man who is a game changer.

He said that President Bola Tinubu must have seen in the CGC special qualities of accomplished administrator before making him the CGC, adding that he has not disappointed the President for once.

Emphasizing that Customs is key to the economic development of any nation, Ibeke called on the Federal Government to give the Service more powers and political support to be able to deliver better on its mandate

By Izuchukwu Ozoemena

As the CGC is being hailed for advising the government to suspend the controversial 4% Free-On-Board (FOB) cargo import duty collections, Save Nigeria Importers and Exporters Coalition, a prominent freight forwarders group, says the suspension is an after-thought. Therefore, the group has called on the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi and the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, to resign for failing to advise the Federal Government when it was appropriate to do so.

President of the freight forwarders group, Chief Patrick Osita Chukwu, made the call in Lagos, Wednesday, while condemning a trade regime whose implementation, according to him, is ‘heartless’ and ‘unfeeling,’ going by what the business community and ordinary Nigerians are currently passing through in the hands of government. He condemned a situation government and politicians do not mind using what is left of the blood of Nigerians in their quest to increase Customs revenue target designed to satisfy their personal whims and caprices. As a result of crushing rates and duties that human face, he regretted, major importers are being pushed out of business while others struggling to keep affloat have gone under completely.

As Chief Chukwu noted, what was agreed by stakeholders as per the 2023 Customs Act is a 4% increase in the aggregated derivation accruing to the Nigeria Customs Service from all levies and duties paid on goods and not a hike in the percentage on free- on- board (FOB) levy being misinterpreted as present in the Act. He described the action of those he said changed the original agreement as “wicked”.

Chief Chukwu who lamented the economic hardship Nigerians face now wondered

“Why will anybody want to put additional burden on Nigerians whose economic situation has become worse than ever before?”, he asked.

He was vehement in his call on the government to remove this 4% increase and revert to the original percentage being charged on cargoes through FOB.

“This must be removed completely, not just suspended as announced a couple of days ago. The Finance Minister must resign; the CGC must resign.” He informed that before the so-called suspension, over N500 billion had been collected. These must be returned to those who were forced to pay it.

It is recalled that in a February 11 release, the National Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Customs Service, Assistant Controller of Customs, Abdullahi Maiwada said, among others:

“The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) hereby announces the suspension of the implementation of 4% Free-on-Board (FOB) value on imports as provided in Section 18(1)(a) of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCSA) 2023. This is sequel to ongoing consultations with the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister
of the Economy, Mr Olawale Edun and other Stakeholders”.

The statement also detailed a few elements of the 2023 Customs Act which says “The Act further empowers the Service to modernise its operations through various technological innovations. Specifically, Section 28 of the NCS Act 2023 authorises developing and maintaining electronic systems for information exchange between the Service, other Government Agencies, and traders. The Service is already implementing several digital solutions, including the recently deployed B’Odogwu clearance system which stakeholders are benefiting from through faster clearance times and improved transparency. Other innovative solutions authorised by the Act include; Single Window Implementation (Section 33), Risk Management Systems (Section 32), Non-intrusive inspection equipment (Section 59) and Electronic data exchange facilities (Section 33(3))”. These are all geared towards making the NCS an efficient entity”.

Chief Chukwu who, however, described the current CGC as an acclaimed public relations guru, said that now the buck ends on his table, he should have been in a better position to feel the pulse of the people and to know the consequences of implementing such a hike in levy at this moment in time. He should have advised the government earlier against the implementation of the hike; he should have advised a reversal to the old rate.

Chukwu also asked the Minister for Finance, Olawale Edun, to resign for focusing only on internally generated revenue (IGR) and thinking less of the Human Development Index (HDI) thereby leaving most Nigerians pauperized, traumatized and only in existential living.