Market News

BY  Eugene Agha

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has said in two weeks’ time, it will take delivery of scanners for Apapa, Tin-Can Island and Onne Ports complex to facilitate trade and cargo evacuation.

Barring any change in the arrangement, the scanners would eliminate the physical examination of cargo by officials of the Nigeria Customs Service and make the entire process less cumbersome.

Recall that in January 2021, NCS announced that three new scanners have been purchased by the Ministry of Finance and an additional four to be purchased by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to boost trade facilitation.

Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd), disclosed that the deployment of the e-Customs components would see to the deployment of 135 modern scanners to enhance border security and boost national trade facilitation.

Speaking during the tour of some customs’ commands in the western zone, the coordinator, Zone A of the service, Modupe Aremu, said the coming onboard of e-customs will see the deployment of additional 70 scanners across the various seaports, airports and land borders.

She said, “I am very passionate about scanning and I know that in another two weeks we are expecting three scanners, one for Apapa, Tin-Can and Onne ports. With the coming of e-customs, we are expecting 70 scanners that will be distributed everywhere and very soon, we will have our scanners functioning.”

She charged importers to embrace compliance to hasten evacuation of cargoes from the seaports.

“I am telling the importers that compliance is key and when you are compliant, cargo has a shorter dwell time with customs and if there is compliance, there won’t be an alert but a seamless cargo evacuation.

“We urge the importers to be compliant so as to have a shorter dwell time of cargoes in the seaports.”