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Customs promises to mitigate impact of increase in duty exchange rate through trade facilitation 

The Eyewitness Reporter The Nigeria Customs Service has  again reiterated its commitment to trade facilitation when it promised to mitigate against the impact of the recent increase in duty exchange rate by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)

It could be recalled that on December 7th, 2023, for the umpteen time and the second time in four weeks, CBN raised the Customs duty exchange rate to N951.941 per dollar.The rate was jerked up a month ago in November from N770.88 per dollar to N783.174 per dollar.

The latest duty exchange rate has since been reflected on the Customs portal.

Before the latest increase, the exchange rate for customs duty in June was N420 per dollar before it was jerked up to N775 per dollar in July.

Shortly after that, it jumped to N778 per dollar before the latest increase to N951.941 per dollar.

However, the customs has explained that it would ensure that there is a minimum delay in the customs process in order to ensure customs agents take delivery of their cargo without incurring demurrage.

Explaining the position of the customs on the increase yesterday, Comptroller Dera Nnadi, the Tin Can Customs Area controller, said there was little the customs could do over the fiscal and monetary policies which he said are within the purview of the federal government while the customs merely implements them.

Comptroller Nnadi, who was speaking yesterday, December 7th, 2023 at the 25th silver jubilee anniversary of the League of Maritime Editors in Lagos, pleaded for the patience and understanding of the trading public and admonished them to comply with the policy for the good of the society.He said that the customs learnt about the latest increase just like any other Nigerian.

Nnadi, however, promised that the customs, especially his command, Tin Can Island Port, would try to optimise its service delivery by facilitating trade to minimize the anticipated delays and resultant demurrage in order to mitigate the effects of the sudden increase.

“We are all affected, including the customs officers, by the increase.

“There is no separate supermarket where they sell customs bread”

” We as Nigeria Customs officers, just like other Nigerians, woke up this morning( Yesterday, December 7th) to find out that the exchange rate, which is the yardstick for the collection of customs duty, has been jerked up.

” Before June/ July, it was 420 per dollar, by July, it jumped to N775 to dollars, shortly after, it jumped to N778 to a dollar and this morning (yesterday, December 7th), it was increased to N951.941per dollar.

” We understand the implication of this on trade, bearing in mind letters of credit have been opened, contracts have been signed, supplies have been made, and people have negotiated business transactions based on the previous exchange rate.

” And we recognize the import of this exchange rate on trade.

” We recognize what the Nigeria business community is going through but there is little we can do as customs service about the fiscal and monetary policies.

” Our role is to implement them, we do not make these policies and we align ourselves with government decisions.

” Every decision taken by government is for the collective interest of the nation and we expect that we must all abide by it.

” As Customs, what we can do to mitigate the impact of what the trading public is going to go through in the next few days because of the increase in the exchange rate is to optimise our service delivery where there are expected delays in customs process to make up for this sudden increase.

“We will try to facilitate trade so that whatever little money you would have paid on demurrage, you can now use it to make up for this sudden increase and that is what I can manage.

“We do this because if the agents go back to their importers and ask them to raise additional funds to augment the one they have paid because of the sudden increase, the importers may find it difficult to raise the money and there will be delay and the attendant demurrage.

” So what we can do as customs service, is to minimize these expected delays through facilitation of trade.

” The Nigeria Customs Service cannot manage the other aspect of price increase because that is the function of federal government directive” Comptroller Nnadi explained in a very comprehensive manner to exonerate the customs service from these sudden increases in the exchange rates.

He however believed that most of the trade activities in Nigeria are being heavily subsidized by the government which makes citizens of the neighbouring countries cross the borders to Nigeria to buy goods in Nigeria.

” But I am by no means justifying the incessant and sudden increments in tariff.

” But Nigerians must be patriotic enough to obey government policies when they are issued because every government policy is issued in the best interest of the people” the Customs chief sermonises.

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Customs

Group confers “continental” award on Adeniyi over customs’ phenomenal revenue record

Adeniyi, CGC
Funso OLOJO
The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, C.G.C Adewale Bashir Adeniyi, has been nominated and approved to be honoured with “The Continent Man of The Year 2024” Award by Board of Editors and Publishers of Continent magazine.
This resolution was announced by the spokesman of the group, Mr David Oladimeji, at the end of group’s meeting held on Friday, September 13th, 2024 in Abuja.
The meeting was organized by” The Continent “Magazine to deliberate on a personality and organisation deserving of the Award.
The Board’s attention was drawn to the statement made recently by former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (C.B.N) and sitting Governor of Anambra state, Prof Chukwuma Soludo,who told his constituents in Awka that the Customs and F.I.R.S have sustained the nation’s economy from collapse since February this year, when the NNPCL stopped remittance of statutory revenue to the Federation Account for onward disbursements to the three tiers of governments.
Oladimeji said “the Board noted that this is not an easy task to be achieved under the astute and dedicated leadership of C.G.C Adeniyi, considering the fact that the Customs and it’s officers have been perceived by the public as corrupt and fraudulent”
” In a bid to commend and encourage leaders of the customs and F.I.R.S as well as their lieutenants not to rest on their oars, the Board resolved to honour the C.G.C, his Command Controllers and Revenue Collectors who had made significant sacrifices and excelled in their national anti-smuggling, revenue collection assignments with “The Continent Man of The Year” and “Pillars of Nigerian Economy 2024″ Awards”
As plans are geared towards the  celebration of the international and national icons at a date to be announced soon, “The Continent” special edition will publish the profile and achievements of the deserving recipients that earned them recognition and honour.
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Customs

 Freight expert tasks customs on eliminating human contacts in its operations to curb corruption

Dr. Segun Musa

—commends CGC Adeniyi for improved customs operations 

Funso OLOJO 
Dr. Segun Musa, the Deputy National President of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders(NAGAFF), has urged the management of the Nigeria Customs Service to eliminate human contacts in its operations to minimize corruption in the cargo delivery system at the ports.
Musa, who was a guest at the roundtable conference organized by the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria(MARAN), claimed that 50 percent of Nigeria’s corruption emanates from the ports.
The NAGAFF chieftain believed that if the customs adopts full automation of its operations, it will not only facilitate legitimate trade but reduces corruption in the clearance system to a minimum.
The freight forwarder cum politician who once contested for the governorship election in Lagos State, however, commended the Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, for his transformational leadership which he confessed has greatly improved the operations of the agency.
” There is an improvement in the operations of the customs under the present leadership of Wale Adeniyi but there is still room for more improvement” he declared.
He believed the agency has greatly improved in the area of technology.
” Before now, when Customs officers wanted to access their system, they used their passwords.
” But now, they do that through their thumbprints
” This will make it difficult for any other person to gain access to their system or steal their passwords, even passwords alone cannot gain access to the system except through their thumbprints” he noted.
The NAGAFF chief however appealed to the customs management to grant clearing agents similar privilege that will allow them to use their thumbprints to enter their entries into their system.
He said he made this call to reduce the high incidence of sending innocent customs brokers to jail for offences they did not commit.
“A lot of agents have gone to jail for offences they did not commit but which somebody who fraudulently used their licenses to perpetrate the illicit acts.
“If we are made to be using our thumbprints to access customs portal to lodge our entries just like customs officers do access their NICSII platform, fraudulent people will not be able to use our license to do illegal business” he noted.
He urged the customs authority to fully automate its operations unlike what he described as semi-automation that presently obtains.
According to him, with full automation, there would be no need for agents to physically interact with officers as it is presently done.
” Customs operations should be fully automated to eliminate human contacts.
“We, as customs agents, do not want to interface with customs officers again.
” Yes, Customs say we are corrupt. We have accepted that we are corrupt.
“But we do not want to be corrupt again.
” We want to be as saint as the customs officers so we do not want to interface with them again.
“Let us be relating with them virtually, online” Musa insisted.
To further eliminate corruption and human contacts with customs officers, the freight forwarder cum politician wanted the customs to assign codes to their documents so that officers processing such documents will not have access to the owners.
” Also, the name of the company must not be on the license. It should be a code.
” Let every company have a code. This will make it impossible for the officer treating a particular job to interface with the owner.
” Let’s make it difficult for such an officer to identify the owner of the document”
” This will eliminate interaction and familiarity between the customs officers and owners of the license which often leads to compromise and extortion.
He claimed that through such an unholy alliance between the customs officers and importers, clearing agents have often lost the services of their clients who abandoned them after such interactions with the officers.
The NAGAFF chief also advised the customs management to always give a timeline for a document to spend with an officer.
” When the entry gets to the table of an officer, it must be timed and be given a timeline which an entry must spend with the officer with the caveat that if he doesn’t process the document or query it, as the case may be, say in five minutes, such an officer will be queried. This is how to facilitate trade.
” As an importer or clearing agent, I don’t need to go to the customs or terminal operators or shipping companies to get my job out”
” Gone were the days. The world has moved beyond that stage and we cannot continue to be living in the past.
” Our counterparts in other African countries have gone far ahead of Nigeria in terms of trade facilitation.
” We do not want to know customs officers and they too should not know us as freight forwarders to do our job.
” My job must not be treated because I know the CGC or the CAC. My document must be treated on merit, with no preferential treatment.
” Let everyone be treated equally, after all, we the agents charge our clients agency fees” he asserted.
Musa said that the only way legitimate trade could be facilitated is when the customs, shipping companies and terminal operators fully automate their operations and reduce human contact.
” If corruption in the ports, which accounts for about 50 percent of corruption in the country, is reduced to a bearest minimum, the prices of goods in the market will be cheaper.
” People have often claimed that the cost of doing business at the  Nigerian Ports is very expensive. Why is this so?
” Because we are still operating an analogy system in a highly automated world.
” By the time we migrate into full automated system, prices of commodities in the markets will be cheaper .”
” This is because I don’t have to bribe customs officers to treat my document, I don’t have to pay higher storage or demurrage charges to exit my goods from the port.
” My shipment will not get to its expiry date before I get it out. That is what we call trade facilitation”
” If the customs officer queries your job, get about 6 months bond and argue the matter.
” If the customs has a superior argument for the query, you as the importer or his agent will pay the DN and the accumulated charges.
” But if you, as an agent, have a superior argument and win the case and they did not allow you to provide a bond and your shipment gets stuck at the port, accumulating demurrage, the officer who issued the query should be queried and made to pay any accumulated charges, including paying the inconveniences of the agent.
” This will serve as a deterrent to other officers who deliberately delay the processing of documents to frustrate agents who are forced to compromise” the NAGAFF chieftain observed.
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Customs

NSA rallies security agencies against petroleum smuggling

— commends Customs’ onslaught to curb the menace 
Funso OLOJO 
Disturbed by the malignant menace of petroleum smuggling and its effect on the national economy, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, has enjoined the Nigeria Customs service and relevant security agencies to muster concerted efforts to confront the menace of the illicit trade in the country.
Addressing the gathering of high caliber of stakeholders who converged on his office on Monday 9th, 2024 for high level interactive session, Ribadu bemoaned the evil of petroleum smuggling which he  described as a “cancer that kills”.
 He noted that the illicit activity drains vital resources needed for national development and undermines government revenue.
He however singled out the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Adewale Adeniyi for commendation over his  commitment to tightening surveillance across Nigeria’s borders to curb petroleum product smuggling.
Ribadu reminded the participants of the meeting that “they convened to address the recurring challenge of petroleum smuggling, which threatens Nigeria’s economy and national security.”
Extolling the commitment of Adeniyi to fighting petroleum smuggling, the National Security Chief  praised the efforts of the Customs Service under Adeniyi’s leadership, highlighting the agency’s role in not only securing Nigeria’s borders but also safeguarding the integrity of the country’s economy.
Ribadu, however, stressed that the nation’s security apparatus must agree to work together to tackle the smuggling menace, which, according to him, will continue to destabilise the oil sector and foster illegal activities across the country’s borders if not properly addressed.
The NSA appreciated the strong presence of key stakeholders, including representatives from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), and the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) among others.
In his remarks, Comptroller-General Adewale Adeniyi emphasised the Nigeria Customs Service’s commitment to fulfilling its legal mandate, especially in light of the NCS Act 2023, which according to him, empowers the agency to enforce strict measures against smuggling activities across the country.
CGC Adeniyi, who acknowledged the complexity of petroleum products smuggling, reiterated the Customs Service’s resolve to address the challenge, pointing to recent operations, led by Comptroller Ejibunu, which were aimed at dismantling smuggling syndicates.
“What we are doing here today is a clear demonstration of the good intentions of the Office of the National Security Adviser, which has provided us with a platform to mount and execute special operations against smuggling,” Adeniyi said.
He added, “The repositioning of Nigeria’s economy and the oil sector is a crucial objective, and as an organisation, the Nigeria Customs Service is ready to play its role in achieving this.”
The Customs Boss explained that the Service is leveraging innovative technologies to enhance border security, stating that “One key initiative is the integration of real-time monitoring systems, similar to those used by Dubai Customs, which have successfully employed blockchain technology to track and authenticate oil and gas movements.”
He also urged stakeholders to focus on transparency and accountability throughout the petroleum supply chain.
He acknowledged that smuggling is driven by factors beyond the Customs Service’s control, but pledged that the NCS would not relent in its efforts to clamp down on the illegal trade.
“We remain committed to ensuring that legitimate businesses thrive, while at the same time, we will not hesitate to suppress any form of illegitimate activities in the petroleum sector,” Adeniyi said.
On his part, Comptroller Hussein Ejibunu, the National Coordinator of Operation Whirlwind, emphasised the need for stronger inter-agency collaboration, noting that anti-smuggling efforts require the combined strength of various government agencies, including the NCS, NMDPRA, NNPC Ltd., and security services.
Comptroller Ejibunu, who acknowledged the financial burden associated with conducting the operations, also called for an increase in funding and allocation of vehicles to the operatives of Operation Whirlwind.
The stakeholders, on their part, all agreed to show commitment to eliminating petroleum smuggling and securing Nigeria’s borders, stating, “We all dissociated ourselves from anything smuggling, and we’re in support of this operation, Operation Whirlwind.”
The National Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Customs Service, Chief Superintendent of Customs, Abdullahi Maiwada, while announcing the closure of the meeting, said a joint communique has been signed, as he further read some new resolutions that will set the ball rolling in terms of fighting against smuggling.
According to him, “Following extensive deliberations, a joint communique was signed by NSA Ribadu, Comptroller-General Adeniyi, and other key representatives, including officials from NNPC Limited, NMDPRA, and IPMAN.
The communique outlined a series of resolutions aimed at curbing petroleum smuggling and protecting Nigeria’s economy.”
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