Importer decries delays, multiple alerts in cargo clearance

By Efe Onodjae

A seasoned importer with over four decades of experience, Sir Gabriel Obi, has raised alarm over persistent delays and multiple alerts in cargo clearance, warning that such challenges are undermining the effectiveness of the cargo scanning regime at the nation’s ports.

Obi, Chief Executive Officer of Asikabbili Investment Limited and a licensed customs agent with 43 years in the industry, told Vanguard in a telephone interview that despite complying with all regulatory requirements and obtaining a clean scan report, his consignment has remained trapped in a web of bottlenecks.

According to him, the cargo, raw materials for the local production of suitcase and school bags, successfully passed through the newly introduced scanning process, with results indicating no irregularities.

“The scanning showed a clean image. There was no suspicion whatsoever. Ordinarily, that should have cleared the goods for immediate release. Shortly after the scanning stage, i was directed to undergo additional procedures, including query amendments, despite already possessing valid permits. I was asked to go for query amendment and present permits I had already submitted. It took them two days just to verify documents that were already in order,” he said.

Obi further disclosed that after completing the documentation process, another alert was placed on the same consignment at the terminal, causing fresh delays.

“After everything was cleared, I got to the terminal and was told there was another alert. Nobody could clearly explain where it was coming from,” he added. The situation worsened at the logistics stage, where rising costs compounded the delays.

“A truck that should cost about N300,000 suddenly went up to N800,000 because of the complications. As we speak, the goods are still not delivered,” he lamented.

The importer alleged that the repeated alerts and prolonged delays point to systemic inefficiencies and practices that encourage extortion.

“All these bottlenecks are unnecessary. It is a system that makes you keep paying for delays that should not exist,” he said.

Obi also expressed concern over the involvement of multiple enforcement units within and around the port environment, many of whom, he claimed, interfere with already cleared consignments.

“You see different agencies and even Police units stopping containers that have been duly cleared. It is not their responsibility, yet they are involved,” he said.

He maintained that the introduction of scanning technology was meant to eliminate such issues by providing a clear and reliable assessment of cargo.

“The essence of scanning is to show what is inside the container. If the image is clean, that should be final. There should be no room for further alerts.”

Calling for urgent reforms, Obi urged authorities to streamline the alert system and ensure it aligns with the objectives of the scanning regime.

“If alerts must exist, they should be centralised within a single platform. Once an issue is cleared, no other officer should have the power to raise another alert on the same cargo.”

“I am not just an importer; I am also a manufacturer. These delays affect production and increase the cost of doing business,” he said.

Obi called on the Nigeria Customs Service and other relevant agencies to address the challenges urgently to ensure that ongoing port reforms deliver the intended results.