The national leadership of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has made compulsory the ongoing Customs training on modern customs transaction for all their members.
Speaking recently at the official commissioning of a new secretariat for the Tin -Can Island chapter of the association, the National President of the association, Prince Olayiwola Shittu, said the training is a prerequisite for renewal of licenses by the Nigerian Customs services (NCS).
NSC had last week commenced the first batch of training for customs licensed agent at their new secretariat in Amuwo Odofin.
Shittu who at the event pleaded with members of his association to attend the programme, said failure may spell doom for them on the long run.
“I want to appeal to our members to please find time to get to our national secretariat or come to chapter secretariats to know how you can be part of customs foundational training.
“The foundation training is going on is necessary for all agencies that are members of ANLCA. I can tell you because of the international best practice, you will not get your license renewed if you don’t pass through this foundational training.
“We have done the first batch, the second batch is ending today (Thursday) and the third batch will be on Monday. You will know what you are missing because the rudimentary nature of our profession is what they are teaching us now, but if you think you are too big to learn, it is then you will know that you are being forced to do what you are supposed to do.
“When your license is no longer renewed, when the benchmark will be training you have gone through, then, you know you have been losing a lot,” he said.
Shittu however praised the Comptroller-General of Customs, Dikko Abdulahhi, for the cooperation and partnership the association had gotten from the service.
“No aspect of customs brokerage has the CGC not touched, even in terms of training, partnership and the rest, I hereby applaud him for his support for our association,” he said.
He said, “Importantly, Customs Brokers came off better informed, equipped and prepared to make a lasting impression on the ways they process and deliver cargo.
“Also were the fundamental structures of classification of goods and its legal rules and conditions thereto. The customs clearing processes was also taught as the time-tested procedures for the valuation of goods in different forms, was elaborated.
“The excitement and the willing disposition of the agents to learn all of the customs processes on their own were palpable from day one. This was evident in the individual’s further exploration of the subjects immediately after class, and the discussions that trail every class.”
Shittu attributed the practical hands-on as a tool that aided quick understanding of the procedures by brokers.
“Practical hands-on boosted the rate of understanding of the licensed Customs Agents. The agents yearned for more for the fact that they were uneasy because of their jobs at the ports, which sometimes distracted their attention during the programme,” he added.
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