The National President of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Clearing Agents (ANLCA), Chief Tony Nwabunike, has said the manual system of operations accounts for the corruption and illegalities at the seaports.
In an interview, he explained that the system has remained complacent right from access control to cargo examination and submission of manifests by shipmasters.
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He said the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) stepped up efforts to deploy an electronic call-up system of trucks into the ports.
“Accessing the ports along with its physical examination of containers instead of using scanners has created areas of corruption and inefficiencies in our port system. One finds it difficult to understand why we allowed such unproductive methods to thrive for many years.”
He also said the disjointed approach to common technology-based interfaces like single window platforms and Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System (NICIS II) makes government agencies work at cross purposes.
Nwabunike also noted that such port processes lead to the loss of revenues while allowing contrabands into Nigeria with attendant economic, social and security challenges.
