4th April, 2011
The Nigeria Customs Service, Apapa Area 1 Command, has created a formula to overcome the problem of delay in cargo clearance caused by multiple examination by various government agencies.
Mr. Idris Suleiman, the controller of the command said that any government agency that fails to participate in the joint examination of cargoes at the port at the designated time will no longer have the right to stop containers for further examination.
Suleiman added that the Federal Government took the decision to overcome the problem of congestion often experienced at the port, which, according to him, is caused by delays in the scanning areas.
He disclosed that the Federal Government has approved the pre-stacking scanning of containers once discharged from the vessels, with effect from 28 March, 2011.
He said that with the new system, containers will now be scanned on arrival at the port before they are stacked at the various terminals, even before declarations are made.
Suleiman said the idea behind it has been achieved, noting that cargo dwell-time has drastically reduced at the Lagos Port Complex (LPC), Apapa.
“Once a container arrives, it will first go through scanning before it is stacked, then the images will be saved. When the importer or agent makes his declaration, the images will be recalled and analysed.
Any cargo that is fit to be released will be cleared, while suspected ones will be held for physical examination,†Suleiman explained.
