Shittu said that there is no reason for port users, especially licensed customs agents, to frown at being issued permits by operators of the various port areas where they carry out their port transactions.
He said that it should not be regarded as burdensome for port users to wield the various port permits noting that this is necessary to discourage illegal entry into the ports.
“Whether you carry CRFFN (Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria) pass, NPA (Nigeria Port Authority) pass, terminal pass and your association pass it does not matter because they are meant for different purposes. CRFFN pass shows you are a practicing freight forwarder whether you stay in your office or you help to procure trucks or you own a customs license and operating it shows that you are a CRFFN member. If you collect the one of NPA it means that you can go to NPA area that is the common user area, to identify that NPA knows you are there so why are people making issue out of collecting ports pass?” he said.
Shittu, however, said that having these port passes does not justify that people go into the ports to idle away.
Copyright Ships & Ports Ltd. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit given to www.shipsandports.com.ng as the source.