EDITORIAL:
A GLIMPSE IN FREIGHT FORWARDERS GROWING RESENTMENTS TOWARDS COMPT. NNADI’S ADMINISTRATION
By Mcanthony Onuoha
One of my concerns presently as a maritime journalist is Customs Agents resentments towards the administration of the Customs Area Controller, Tincan Command, Compt. Dera Nnadi, mni.
Comptroller Nnadi, a seasoned and thorough bred Customs officer who rose from the ranks by dint of hard work and dedication to duty, has in the course of service, headed various units of the organization before his present position as CAC Tincan Command.
Feelers from the command indicate that most Clearing Agents are not happy with Compt. Nnadi’s administration, while some explicitly express their frustration and resentments towards his administration some describe the administration as the most insensitive when compared to past ones.
Comptroller Nnadi is being accused of tightening every noose and blame mass movement of Agents and their importers to Apapa Port solely on him. It was gathered that most importers now prefer routing their consignments to Apapa to Tincan due to Compt. Nnadi’s rigidity.
However, some have accused the cerebral Comptroller of not practicing what he preaches as he always delays to sign out transires to Bonded terminals thereby disrupting ease of doing business while openly underscoring the possibility of achieving the feat of 24 hours cargo delivery at every given forum.
Again, freight Forwarders are alleging that the CAC is making things very difficult for them as they go out there in search of job but go back home empty handed due to the high handedness of the officers manning various units and what they described as the “outlandish meticulousness” of the Controller.
It is no longer news that Tincan Command of the Nigeria Customs was given a Revenue Target of about 1.130 trillion for 2024. And if Compt. Dera Nnadi and his team do not pay attention to details and also fail to plug revenue leakages, how will the Command meet such jaw-dropping revenue target ?
If at all it continues to be business as usual, from what source can this target be met aside proper payment of import duties ?
At 2023 Freight Forwarders Day at Rockview Hotel and Suites Apapa, an annual event organized by National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders- NAGAFF, the Founder, Dr. Boniface Okechukwu Aniebonam, cautioned NAGAFF members not to cast aspersions on Nnadi’s administration and personality. He stated that those who accuse Nnadi of rigidity and insensitivity are those who make false declarations. Aniebonam went further by saying that those who circumvent trade rules are the ones accusing Nnadi of being insensitive. He warned his members not to make any statement against the office and person of Tincan Command’s Customs Area Controller in his presence either as an official report or mere statement. He commended the Controller for his administrative prowess and urged him not to relent in his good works.
Even as the resentments and bitterness towards the CAC keep raging, and amidst blames of scaring importers away from the Command, the Controller, during a press briefing held in Tincan Command’s Conference room, disclosed that the Command raked in over N240.3billion from January 2024 till date. He stated that the Command realized a total of N88.4 billion in the month of January, 2024, which is 7.89 percent higher than the value of N42.5 billion collected the previous year in January, 2023.
According to the CAC, “in the month of February 2024, the Command generated N100.399,354.887 billion which is 41.82 percent higher than the value collected same period in 2023, which is N41,518,738,649.09 billion.
Unarguably, despite the growing insinuation of rerouting of consignments to Apapa port by importers and their agents, resulting in the purported Tincan Command’s low record of cargo throughput, the CAC and his team seem to be right in the center of very auspicious era, looking forward to meeting or surpassing the revenue target of N1.130 trillion given to his Command by the Nigeria Customs for 2024. And he has always expressed confidence of meeting this target.
Recall that weeks ago, the Controller was molested by angry agents at 2nd Gate when he went to address some urgent challenges. Freight Forwarders went berserk chanting anti Nnadi’s song and accusing the Controller of extortion and high-handedness.
Though some of the agents begged to defere saying that those accusing Nnadi were freight forwarders who want him to return to status quo ante, but said that allowing “business as usual” would badly rub off on the CAC’s principles and enviable records of professionalism, dependability and patriotism, but rather begged the CAC to address the issue of multiple alerts and more especially, pay close attention to some of the officers coercive extortion and underhandedness as that would keep his integrity intact.
Mcanthony Onuoha is a Maritime Journalist and Publisher of The Prestige Blended Magazine Online and Print
