SON was one of the agencies of government that were domiciled at the port but government saw them as increasing cost of doing business because there were so many organisations involved in cargo clearance.
The government has not asked them not to examine cargo but were asked not to be domiciled in the port. They have their offices outside the seaport and anytime Customs needs them for any consignment that is coming in, they will call them. SON was not the only agency. NAFDAC was also given marching order.
The Federal Government should have a big office that will accommodate all the agencies that were sent away from the port so that when they are needed they will be called upon.
Barr. Fred Aikokia
I will not support the return of SON to the port because as I know in the time of the old day when SON started newly, we had a problem then and we solved it in a rancour free way. The way we solved it was very simple. If the agency knows that importers are bringing substandard goods, there is no way they can stop it at the port of destination rather they should stop it from the country of importation. SON should go to the country of production and stop the goods from coming to the port of destination. Nigeria should stop substandard importation from getting into the country by stopping it from where it is produced.
Patrick Ozobialu
Well, in the first instance, returning to the port by all sacked agencies should not be allowed and we all know that the reason is that most of them are only concerned about what they want to collect from importers.
If SON has the control and regulations of all the items coming into the country, it is not when they come to the port that they will know that a product is fake or not but since they have all the certificates, invoices and every document needed to make them make enquiry from the source.
Their return to the port won’t add any value rather it will inhibit trade facilitation.
Bolade Lawrence
I won’t support SON coming to the port. There is no proof that substandard goods are coming into the country through the seaport. SON has a way to tackle the coming in of substandard products and this can be done by ensuring that all traders importing electrical appliances or what they regulate have a registered warehouse where the goods are going to. Then they do serious monitoring, follow the consignmenet up to where it is being offloaded.
If the goods are substandard, they ask for the owner of the goods or the importer or close the warehouse. Returning to the port will not curb influx of substandard goods; rather it will discourage trade facilitation.
Chukwuma Anthony
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