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| Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) |
Investigation revealed that about 40 to 60 containers are physically examined
at Apapa port daily while between 50 and 70 are examined daily at Tin-can
Island port presently.
With
the use of scanners however, more than double the volume of physically examined
consignments at both ports could be achieved.
There indications that between 170 containers could be examined with the use of one
scanner at Apapa and the number could even double should both scanners be operational.
At Tin-can Island port, the situation is not different as both scanners at the
port are not currently functional.
Public
Relations Officers of Apapa Area1 Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Nkiru Nwala, told Harboursandport.com that it is difficult to say exactly how many containers
are physically examined at the port daily, "it will be easier for APM Terminal
to give the figure as they are responsible for positioning of such
consignments."
Nwala
also explained that although of it is not easy to get the figures of containers
scanned daily at the port, the only functional scanner has capacity to scan
between 10 to 20 containers daily depending on the ability of the terminal
operator to bring containers for scanning.
She
pointed out that most of the time; the terminal operator uses the same cargo
handling equipment to perform multi-purpose functions.
Similarly,
the Public Relations Officer of Tin-can Island Command of the Customs, Uche
Ejesieme, who told Harboursandport.com that the scanners at the port are no longer functional,
pointed out that it is difficult to say the exact number of containers that are
physically examined daily.
According
to him, “It is not easy to collate all the containers examined by Customs in a
day. The terminal operators are in the best position to determine how many
containers they position for examination daily.”
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| Managing Director of NPA, Hadiza Bala Usman |
Meanwhile some port users are in agreement that the scanners are broken down
and none functional while others are of the opinion that the one at Apapa is
functional but that officers and men of the Service are deliberately refusing
to deploy them because they want to continue performing 100 percent examination.
Another
source explained that apart
from the inter-personal connect provided by 100 percent physical examination,
government agencies involved in that form of examination do not want to let go
of the samples they collect and other benefits they derive from that form of examination.
Meanwhile,
Corporate Affairs Manager of APM Terminal, Austin Fisher, the concessionaire of the container terminal at Aapap, told Harboursandport.com that he does
not have the exact number of containers positioned daily for physical
examination neither does he have the number taken for scanning daily.
However,
a source close to the terminal operator said that the concessionaires position about
200 containers daily for physical examination and noted that the number
actually examined by Customs cannot be ascertained.
Another
source said even the terminal operator benefit from the present situation
because they collect demurrage from importers and their agents as long their
consignments stay at the port.
Former
Managing Director of now moribund Cotecna Destination
Inspection Nigeria Limited, CDINL, Tayo Rabiu, had said back then that
they scan about 60 containers daily at Apapa port until the introduction of the
trucking system by APM Terminal which increased the number scanned daily to 130
containers.
He explained that the volume of containers scanned at
Ashaye and RoRo; both at Tin-can Island port had also gone up to between 80 to
90 daily from the previous 50. He said the increased witnessed then was
not enough because it was nowhere near the over 200 daily capacity of the
scanners.
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