Customs reopens sealed NAHCO, SAHCOL warehouses

The Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Area Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) yesterday reopened both the NAHCO and SAHCOL warehouses located at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
Comptroller-General of Customs Dikko Inde Abdulahi had Wednesday last week approved the closure of both warehouses over what the MMIA Area Command described as unexplained exit of goods without proper documentation among other issues.
The Customs Area Controller (CAC), Comptroller Mohammed Umar, said that the action had became necessary after several meetings and consultations held with stakeholders ended with no positive resolutions.

Umar confirmed the latest development to SHIPS & PORTS DAILY at the end of the meeting held with stakeholders, including officials of both NAHCO and SAHCOL yesterday.
The Customs Public Relations Officer (CPRO), Assistant Superintendent Thelma Williams informed SHIPS & PORTS DAILY that it was resolved at the end of the meeting that both cargo handling companies concerned will account for all the missing airway bills before the end of the month.
It was also agreed that officials of both NAHCO, SAHCOL and Customs personnel, who, prior to closure of both warehouses, worked from 9.00am till 1.00pm, will, according to the resolutions reached, work from 8.00am to 5.00pm on weekends to enable them clear the backlog of cargoes that have accumulated since the closure of both warehouses in the past one week.

Williams noted that the closure did not only affect operations of both warehouses, but also the Command’s revenue collection.
“Everybody involved is affected. For us, it is going to affect our revenue. But if you look at it in another positive way, it might even help us in our revenue at the end of the day, because we are still in the early part of the month. But then due process has to be followed,” she said.