Insist Year Of The Stakeholder Not A Ruse

Working and walking the path of progress with diligence and utmost regards to stakeholders to whom he dedicated this year, the Customs Area Controller, CAC, of the Tin Can Island Command of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Comptroller Dera Nnadi mni, is leaving no stone unturned as he mobilizes traders and other Federal Government agencies within the Tin Can port environment to comprehensively execute fiscal/economic policies of the government.

Having brain stormed with his officers and men, ideas and innovations adopted must be passed on to the revered stakeholders which the CAC considers very important in the scheme of operations at the Command.

To bring stakeholders up to speed and put them on the same page, Controller Nnadi last week met with importers, exporters and freight agents to update them with recent developments at the command as well as improved service delivery mechanisms worked out by the introduction of new trade facilitation models.

Comptroller Dera Nnadi mni, disclosed that the meeting with stakeholders was convened to appreciate them because they, in no small way, support the command to meet its revenue upward trajectory.

According to the Controller, the forum was also put together to inform stakeholders on the recent clearing of the Mile 2-Apapa Road corridor, which was made possible by the combined efforts of the Nigerian Ports Authority NPA, the Lagos State Government and the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, among others, which had for over 13 years, been impassable, thus impairing speedy cargo movement from Tin Can Island Ports Complex, as importers had to withdraw their patronage for the port.

“We called our stakeholders; importers, exporters and freight forwarders to appreciate them for consistently helping us to sustain our revenue drive, which has been on the increase. You can agree with me that our impressive revenue performance would not have been possible without the invaluable contributions of our stakeholders, so we called them to appreciate them.

“You will also agree with me that the clearing of the Mile-2-Apapa Road, which followed the relentless efforts by the Managing Director of NPA, Mohammed Bello-Koko, the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, there has been free vehicular flow on the road. So we invited them to acquaint them of the improved turnaround time because a truck can now make two-three trips in one day, which was not the case before now.

“It is also a common knowledge that an access control mechanism has been installed at the port, especially the Five Star Logistics Terminal. The idea is to safeguard cargo, especially RORO vehicles, which were before now tampered with, so we needed to inform them of these positive developments that have greatly enhance their service experience.

“It is very important that we engage with the stakeholders as often as possible in order to review our operational modalities. The port by its very nature, is a dynamic environment and what this means is that every day, things change, there are new innovations, new ideas come up, government policies are reviewed and so there is need to always update our stakeholders” the CAC said.

Innovations

 Dispute Resolution

The Tin Can Controller disclosed that the command has established a Dispute Resolution Mechanism to facilitate trade and ensure seamless resolution of trade disputes. The objective is aimed at making sure that no consignment delayed unnecessarily to avoid additional charges arising from demurrage payment by agents.

The Dispute Resolution Unit is made up of the command’s Public Relations unit, the Enforcement unit and Customs Intelligence Unit CIU.  They have timelines within which to resolve disputes and provide intervention. When it becomes absolutely inevitable,  uch issues could be escalated to the Comptroller’s office.

Information Box

As part of ongoing efforts to satisfy stakeholder at the Command, the Information Box, has been activated. Apart from serving as a feedback mechanism, traders and individuals could drop their complaints, suggestions and or observations which would receive prompt confidential treatment.

While reassuring stakeholders of prompt, efficient services by Customs, the CAC called for improved compliance by all stakeholders even as promised on weekend delivery of cargo if compliance and integrity is exemplified.

The CAC said everything is been done to  ensure cost reduction for importers and their agents towards a better economy for all citizens.