On a day that he was virtually drowned in eulogies by various speakers at a stakeholders forum in Apapa, Lagos, Comptroller-General of Customs Dikko Inde Abdullahi courageously kept a cool and clear head enough to drive home the point that Customs agents were insincere in their dealings and a great problem to the system.
Abdullahi had spoken Tuesday at A Stakeholders Forum on ICT Application for Trade Facilitation, which held Tuesday at the Conference Room, Apapa Area Command, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). A lesser mortal may have been sated and drowned by the cloying praises heaped on him by a number of speakers at the event, notably Customs agents, but the Customs chief was his usual blunt self as he accused Customs agents of perennially raising hell about alleged dislocations in the system, when, according to him, they are the main causative factor.
Abdullahi barely concealed his angst, as he lambasted Customs agents for perpetrating “container flying”, an industry term for illegal clearing and evacuation of consignments from the ports.
The Tin-Can Island Port Complex (TCIPC), Apapa, Lagos, according to him, was particularly-notorious for fraudulent agents’ activities.
The Customs chief had picked for particular mention the duo of Princes Ozo Chukwura and Taiye Oyeniyi, respectively, former Chairmen, Tin-Can Chapter, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA).
Counseling Customs agents on the essence of adhering to due process, Abdullahi noted that those who must go to equity must do so with clean hands.
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.