B’ODOGWU : Chukwuma Urges Freight Forwarders to Exercise More Patience, Solicits Provisional Release
… Says 24 hours cargo clearance achievable
By Mcanthony Onuoha
Maritime Practitioner and Deputy National President of NAGAFF (Seaport), Chief Amb. Dr Afam Chukwuma has unequivocally stated that achieving a 24 hours cargo clearance is achievable .
Chief Chukwuma stated this on Thursday , 28th of August 2025, at Congress of Nigerian Maritime Media Practitioners- CONMMEP Monthly Roundtable with CEOs .
CONMMEP Monthly Roundtable is usually an interactive session where Maritime journalists engage a Chief Executive Officer of a corporate organization, government agency or a maritime stakeholder in dissecting some government policies and issues relating to his/her field of operation, especially the maritime, transport and logistics industries.
Chief Chukwuma, Chairman , ISCS Group, and Managing Director/ CEO of International Supply Chain Systems Limited, a foremost International Trade Logistics and Freight Forwarding Company, called on freight forwarders to upgrade themselves via training and retraining, encouraging a 100% automated clearing system.
He said that full automation would make the system easier and more efficient, against operational challenges and bottlenecks that add financial burdens on importers and their agents.
On B’Odogwu and its teething challenges, Chief Afam Chukwuma expressed optimism that it would only get better.
According to him, ” I have said it in several fora that Nigeria Customs Service remains the best government agency when it comes to electronics and digitalized processes. I say this because l interact with the Police, l also interact with the military, none of them has a seamless electronic process like Customs.”
“For instance, in Customs today, if anything is happening in any Command, the integration of its system is very effective that even the CGC can view what is happening in a terminal in Enugu without being to the terminal.
I was in Customs Headquarters sometime ago in Wuse before they moved to Maitama, it was there l saw a large screen in the office of the ACG Tariff and Trade then, and he was showing me the revenue graphs of all the commands in Nigeria as they stood in real time. As duties were being paid, the graphs were growing. Right in his office he knew in real time when the revenue was dropping and also when it was rising. Within the space of 45 minutes l spent in his office, l could see the rise in figures .That’s the level of efficiency of Customs electronic process and digitalization.”
“Again, if you make a wrong declaration at Tincan or any other Command, an officer in Abuja would alert the Service, and your job is referred. If there is an issue in Onne, or anywhere in the East, you can be in Murtala Muhammed International Airport and view what is happening in Port Harcourt, just like in the Banking industry that you can work into any branch and make your transaction irrespective of where you are.”
“Customs has been able to achieve that level of integration, So that’s why l make bold to say that. Before now, entries were released manually. B’Odogwu now, for instance, we can operate at home because it is a continuation of the modernization policy of the Nigeria Customs. Don’t forget that Customs started from Asycuda to Asycuda ++ to NCIS 1 and 2, and now they are continuing into what they now call B’Odogwu. But the difference is that all those other platforms were foreign apart from B’Odogwu that is indigenous.”
“We witnessed the same thing when Late Dikko was the CG of Customs, he moved us from Risk Assessment Report (RAR) to Pre- Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR), then we had SGS, Cotecna and Global Scan. When Dikko said we were going indigenous, there was pannick, there was fear, people were skeptical about it. And today, PAAR has come to stay, and every one has moved on. The same thing the CGC, Wale Adeniyi has repeated.”
“Surely, it is not all rosy but all we owe them is patience and understanding. I have also told Customs point blank that we are going to support B’Odogwu to work, because we are working to grow Nigerian economy. If any sector wants to indigenise its system, we need to give it maximum support. B’ODOGWU is a Nigerian thing, and as patriotic citizens, we have no choice than to support home grown products. Though there are challenges, delays and network issues, but we need to be patient. All those are teething problems which l believe will give way soon. It is technology, it is ICT, nobody can get it 100% right at a time, but with our patience and understanding it will stabilize.”
“I believe that B’Odogwu will improve, and you can see that between three weeks ago and now, there has been a tremendous improvement. There was a time one week ran out, no network, but it is no longer the same story today. But as at the moment, it is not working well and Customs know that so well.
We as freight forwarders have demanded that Customs should grant us some level of compensation because the initial teething problem has some costs associated to it. Demurrages are there, and the Shipping Companies and Terminal operators will always say that it is not their fault, they are even enjoying it because they are making fortune out of it. Though the CG has said that he had engaged the Executive Secretary of Shipper’s Council in that regard, of which we are yet to see the result. So while trying to improve on the platform, they should also look for a way to compensate freight forwarders and importers, even if it is by granting provisional release or whatever they can do to fast track the process.”
The CG said that he has cancelled the issue of alert, no more alerts on all the jobs for now until the B’Odogwu stabilizes. And l strongly believe it will work perfectly well in the nearest future.”
On the reintroduction of FoB, Chief Chukwuma said that he was still trying to know why the Nigeria Customs reintroduced it, though with little modification. “Technically, they say it is 3%, and we have been at that. It is legal because it is in the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023. The 4% is there, what has been delayed is the implementation. Legally speaking, Customs has not erred. What we are looking at is the timing, the moral angle, how bad the situation is presently. Inflation is here, prices of things are going up everyday. 4% at this time will automatically mean high clearing cost because every businessman checks his landing cost and spreads it on the goods to fix his price. And ultimately, the burden will be on end users. If l may advise, l would rather ask Customs to hold on, especially this time that we are battling with B’Odogwu. Not that we are saying they don’t have the power to implement it, they have the legal backing to do that. My humble appeal is that Customs should delay the implementation until we begin to reap the benefits of B’Odogwu.”
” Again, we are demanding for provisional release which l believe will remove a lot of financial burdens from importers and their agents. Shipper’s Council is the Port economic regulator, and the current CG has been engaging stakeholders since the introduction of B’Odogwu, and l have participated in three of such meetings with the CGC, and it is the same thing we told him. He has also met with the Executive Secretary of Shipper’s Council, and the reason was for ES to prevail on the terminal operators and shipping companies for additional days. We are demanding that the terminal and shipping companies give at least 21 days because of B’Odogwu before they start charging demurrage in order to allow cargoes to go out. While Customs should open provisional release window side by side the normal process of B’Odogwu. 21 days free from now till the end of the year, could save the situation, and Customs on there own side should allow for provisional release.”
“On the final note, l want to say that 24 hours cargo clearance is achievable. We need to reduce body contacts by going full automation. Achieving 24hours cargo clearance is not a rocket science. We need to make it work no matter what it takes”, Chief Chukwuma stated.
