Corruption: Customs must link individuals to its licences

Harboursandport.com: Lagos --- As a means of curbing corruption in cargo clearing process at the port, the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS must link licences issued for brokage to individuals.

Former Chairman CRFFN & MD Talod
Oceanair Freight Ltm

Former Chairman of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria, CRFFN, Hakeem Olarenwaju, who made this suggestion known in an exclusive interview with Harboursandport.com, said until that is done; the problem of corruption cannot be solved.

Olarenwaju explained that a lot of people engage in shape practices because there know such acts cannot be traced to them but to the licence issued by Customs.

Olarenwaju, who is also the Managing Director of Talod Oceanair Freight Limited, said “It pissed me off when somebody will just go to the Direct Trader Input, DTI and used my Talod license to access a job and tomorrow they will tell me they have blocked my licence.

“If you find out you will not know who did that. This is because the person’s identity is not attached to a name. My name is Olarenwaju Hakeem, if anything happens, I can tell you as at the time you are even talking I am no more working with Talod.

“So Talod is an entity and the Customs licenced Talod, not Olarenwaju Akeem. But CRFFN will license individual and also licence corporate bodies but that corporate body that is being licensed is attached to that individual.

“So that if anything happens you can always track down. You open your bank accounts with your company’s name. You are the signatory; it is attached to your name. But in the case of Customs license, you cannot hold anybody. That is why I said they should re-modify it. I think the Customs should be working on that with all these advancement.