The Customs Area Controller (CAC) of Apapa Premiere Port, Comptroller Emmanuel Oluwadare Oshoba, has listed some contributing factors to the looming congestion, said that the issue of containers on transit or transire remaining in the port rather than departing the port contributes to the major cause of congestion.
While chatting with some maritime journalists in his office recently, Compt. Oshoba disclosed that early intelligence reports signaled potential congestion.
In his words “As I go through the reports, I discovered that something is trying to rear its ugly head and that we need to nip such issue in the bud on time, and what is that issue, it is the issue of congestion,” Oshoba said.
He noticed that truck buildup outside the port, as truckers try to turn the area into truck parks, just as the way areas like Ore and Ijebu-Ode are becoming informal truck parks. He also discovered unchallenged behaviour by certain individuals causing delays in truck movement.
To tackle the congestion problem, Oshoba met with the Port Manager and agreed on a joint strategy. “ I met with the port manager and we both agreed that we will work in tandem,” he said, noting visible improvements along the 1.6-kilometer road stretch leading to the port gate.
With Oshoba’s proactive efforts, traffic flow has reportedly improved, even as the Port Manager assured him that efforts to streamline truck movement are ongoing. “He appreciated that we have some glitches in the ecosystem of these trucks coming, and they are going to work on it,” Oshoba added.
Comptr. Oshoba emphasized on innovation, which he said has to do with trade facilitation and ease of doing business. He said the first thing is what is called the Advanced Rulling System. This is where you approach customs before you import, and they give you directives on value and classification, it also encourages compliance.
"Most of the problems we have in the system have to do with either value or classification of goods, now customs will give you the classification, and they will give you value, so when you come here, you don't need much of human contact and arguments and all the rest", he explain.
Another one is the issue of Authorized Economy Operator,(AEO) which is the fast track, it also helps in compliance.
According to the command boss, "Compliant traders move their goods seamlessly through the ports with the least hindrance, so when you go through your risk engine, automatically, most of them just go to the issue of documentation based on your past history of compliance". He added that the AEO helps to move goods faster through the system, so there is less interference and congestion.
Oshoba thanked the media for their role in generating ideas, promoting positive change and emphasized the need for collaboration.
“This is a Nigerian project. We are all stakeholders, so please let us pass the message to the public to support industrial peace and harmony within the environment.
"We want industrial peace and harmony within this environment. It’s better to jaw-jaw than to war-war. Let that be the attitude in this environment so that we can achieve our set goals", he concluded.
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