BUSINESS 119
1HEGUARDIAN,Monda}4Febroaxy21,2011_
Nigeria to reposition Customs to global standard, says Jonathan 'O.tESIDENT Goodluck CJonathan said on Friday that his administration was committed to reforming the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) to make its operations conform to global best practices. The president made the statement when he received the SecretaryGeneral of the World Customs Organisation (WCO), Mr. Kunio MikUIiya, at the State House, Abuja.
"Customs Services are critJonathan said the Federal Government fully appreci- ical to the economic develated the critical role, which opment of nations and are an efficient Customs -also an essential part of Service could play in trade relations among national economic devel- countries. Your efforts to opment keep everybody on the He said that his adminis- same page as far as customs tration would continue to services are concerned are give the leadership of NCS most helpful and we really all the political support appreciate your coming to it required to successfully interact with the leaderreposition the service to ship of our Cu~toms meet globally acceptable Service," the president said. standards of operation. He said the Federal
Government would welcome all the support the WCO could give the Nigerian Customs Service to ensure that it was successfully reformed and modernised to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The president said he would always hold the Customs Service dear to his heart because his first job in life was with the preventive arm of the Nigerian
Customs Service. He added that his brief stint with the service gave him a working knowledge of Customs operations that he still found to be useful. Mikuriya applauded Jonathan's support for the reformation and modernisation of Nigeria's customs operations. He commendea the president for supporting tbe estab-
lishment of a Customs Staff College and noted that other countries in Africa would also benefit from training in the college when it would become fully operational. Mikuriya also said that he had, in the course of his visit to Nigeria, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the ECOWAS.
Clearing agents, customs officers clash at Lagos port OME aggrieved clearing agents at the Apapa Port in Lagos, on Friday engaged in a violent clasfi with officials of the Nigeria Customs Services {NCS) and Terminal Multiservice Limited (PTML) over alleged delay of goods. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the incident left no fewer than seven agents injured while other properties were damaged. NAN also reports that business activities at the terminal were disrupted during the clash, which occurred as a result of a new policy introduced by the NCS. Some of the agents told NAN that the new policy, which stated that Customs officers below the rank of assistant comptroller would no longer be allowed to release containers, had been delaying clearance of goods. They said the process was fast when both junior and seniorII custdoms 掳dffi cers were a owe to or er
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General Manager 3,Line card Management Limited,Funke Ade-ojoOelt); Executive Director Fin Bank, Mr. Nuhu Adam and the Vice-Chairman 3,line Card Management Limited, Ademola Ade-Ojo,at the official unveiling of Freedom Net-work Services, by 3 Line Card Management Limited. In Lagos, recently.
Farmers get N14m Fadama facility in Akwa Ibom From lnemesit Akpan-Nsoh, Uyo
KWA Ibom State government has empowered over I, 200 farmers under the Fadama~ll programme with N14 milllon. This was revealed by the state Commissioner for Agriculture, Obong Eno AkIJan, while speaking with journalists in his office in Uyo, the state capital. According to him, the money would cover 51 farmers group in the state, stressing that, government was re-strategising the agric sector in the state so as to make food available to all in the state. Besides, the government he said has increased the beneficiaries of its Integrated Farmer Scheme (IFS) from 930 to 1,200 youths this year while another initiative, Women Agricultural Entrepreneurship Programme (WAEP), would soon take off in the - state. Akpan noted that, the essence of the government's plans was to lift the standard of living of the people by provide enough food for the state
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and for export. He expl~i~ed t~at, Akpabio's administratIOn was poised to changing the socio-economic status of the state for the better, adding that such must have informed the government's huge investment and budget for the sector in this year's budget. The commissioner said that, because of government's knowledge in the agricultural chain of prodUction, processing, storage and marketing, had to acquired a storage facility of more than 80,000 metric tons at Abak, as well as, the take-
off of a hatchery plant at Nwaniba with 90,000 day old clicks and weeklies, saying that, same would be established in the three senatorial districts. Akpan further said that the government has procured enough fertiliser for distribution to farmers within the planting period, stres-sing that arrangements have been concluded to ensure that the input reaches genuine farmers. "Between July and December last year, the extension arm of the min-. istry, the AKADEP, achieved 100 per cent yam set productIOn," the commisslOn0
er said, adding that "under the National Programme on Food Security, N14 million had been disbursed to cooperative societies covering three local governments in the state," A lot of farmers, he said, have been encouraged to rear snail and other animals found in the forest under the a/;iro-forestry programme. 'The government is taking the valueadded approach head-on by encouraging farmers to move from the subsistence level to large scale production. The government is willing ana ready
to support farmers to acquire eqUipment that will aid them in that regard," Akpan hinted. On the oil palm sector, the commissioner said, "really, we are mobilising people to come back to agriculture because Akwa lbom has always been an agrarian community in tfie country," According to him, the government was at an advanced stage to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a Malaysian company to review the entire oil palm industries in the state.
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release of containers. "Before now, the release of our containers and vehicles did not take more than three days except under certain conditions. "Since Monday when a ship laden with 400 containers arrived at the port, only one Customs officer was assigned to carry out the duty and only between 10 and 15 containers were released in a day," an agent told NAN on condition of anonymity. He lamented that demurrage would be accumulating as importers had transferred the clearing process to the agent. Also speaking, Mr. Ema Tobi, vice chairman Association of Nigeria Licensed Custom Agents, said there was no formal notice before the policy was implemented. Tobi said that NCS should have convened an emergency meeting to notify agents about the development before the implementation of the new policy. But Mr. Ogbonna Chinedu, the public relations officer of PTML, said the NCS leadership introduced the policy to ensure accountability. Chinedu said that with the new IJolicy, Customs officers below the rank of assistant comptroller could no longer release carkloes at the port. Under the new policy, some officers below the rank of AC that were formerly carrying out the release of cargoes could no longer do so bec<j,\ls~_, their passwords' to the' server had been blocked," he said. Asenior police officer路 at the port, who , pleaded anonymity, confirmed the incident, saying that normalcy had returned to the ports. 0
EeowAS, weo sign MOU on capacity building ~E President of the .1 Economic Community of West African States(EeOWAS) Commission, 路Amb. Victor Gbeho, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the World Customs Organisation (WeO) on capacity building, tariff and trade facilitation. The News Agency o{Nigeria (NAN) reports that the agreement, signed on Friday in Abuja, will pro-
vide a platform for fruitful cooperation between the two institutions. Gbeho said majority of ECOWAS member states had declared their intention to implement the WCO framework of standards to modernise Customs procedures and improve cross-bordertrade. According to him, the agreement will facilitate trade without compromising security and revenue collection.
He said the commission recognised the critical role
international supply chain security and customs automation currently conparticularly in the areas of fronting the region. trade facilitation, harmonisa"Currently, ECOWAS is tion of tariff and the estabdeveloping a Common lishment and implementaExternal Tariff (CET) as part of tion of a common tariff in the process of achieving a the region. Customs Union. Gbeho said the MOU would --The commission is also enable the commission have undertaking a programme of access to technical assistance, interconnecting the customs various instruments of WCO computer systems In memand technical meetings. ber states as a prelude to ultiHe said the MOU would mately having a single platalso boost trade facilitation, form for customs systems in of Customs as an institution,
the region. This would enhance data exchange and also facilitate trade in the region," Gbeho said. WCO Secretary-General, Mr. Kunio Mikuriya, said the MOU was to enhance co-operation with ECOWAS and to boost the develoRment of the sub-region s economy. "We are aelighted to partner with ECOWAS to enhance OUr activities in Africa," he added.