....Solicits support from Shippers Council
The Comptroller General , Nigeria Customs Services ,Colonel Hameed Ali (rtd) has faulted operations of multinational shipping companies in Nigeria saying that most of the shipping manifests of the consignments that they carry are surrounded with irregularities.
Ali made the allegation yesterday, during his visit to the Nigerian Shippers' Council in Lagos as part of his current interface with stakeholders in the maritime industry, even as he called for synergy among maritime agencies in ensuring that importation and exportation of consignment are properly documented.
He noted that since the shippers’’ council is the port commercial regulator , there is need for it to collaborate with the customs service, adding that customs has put in place mechanism to address the irregularities surrounding shipping manifest.
He also reiterated that 75% of maritime activities are cocentrsted in Lagos , pointing out that the same percentage is generated as revenue for government through the same sector.
Ali told top executives of the Nigerian Shippers' Council led by the Chief Executive Officer, Barrister Hassan Bello that " we have some issues we want to iron out and we have set a machinery in place , and we will mention some of them for you to know today"
"We are aware that one of your mandate is to regulate the shippers"
"Sometimes we don't get records we desire to do our jobs from them and the manifest that come to us has a lot of problems, some of them are falsification of document, some are not correct", he added.
Speaking further, he said “In the manifest they will say it is chemical but chemical is in any categories and it will behove on us to wonder what kind of chemical it is"
But responding, the Chief Executive Officer, of the Nigeria Shippers Council, Barrister Hassan Bello said that collaboration among agencies of government is key to moving the maritime sector forward.
He also called on the federal government to put in place amenities for terminal operators for port business to thrive. http://shippingposition.com.ng/article/customs-boss-ali-accuses-shipping-companies-masterminding-questionable-manifest
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