The Board of Trustees (BOT) of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has elected Taiwo Mustapha, as its new Chairman. Mustapha will be in charge of the board, which is the highest decision making body of the association, for the next two years. Former Chairman of the board, Henry Njoku was voted out at the election, which held last weekend in Lagos, having served in the position for 10 years. Mustapha, who confirmed the development said the election was held among eight members of the board and he emerged the Chairman with five votes.
He said, “There was an election with eight members present. We used to be nine members before Tony Iju contested for the Presidency, so the remaining eight of us were at the meeting. Five voted for me, two voted against and one person was absent.”
Mustapha who said the tenure of the new board chairman had already started from April 15, promised to work with the new president to move the association forward and also reconcile aggrieved members who lost in the last elections. “We need to move the association forward and part of it is to find a way to regularize port operations. We want to legislate it in such a way that at least, a member of ANLCA is always appointed on the board of NPA and Customs and that is part of what we are trying to work on and we will as well work with the new president to move the association forward. “We are going to reconcile all aggrieved members. We are going to be one family. It is normal, when election is over, some people may feel aggrieved for one reason or the other, but we will work to reconcile every member.”
Intercepts bulletproof vest, other military hardware at Lagos airport
The Murtala Muhammed International Airport Area Command, Lagos, of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has impounded a consignment of military hardware including bulletproof vests, imported into the country.
The consignment, said to have been falsely declared by the importer, included camouflage uniforms, bulletproof jackets, military helmets, military face caps, military vest of different camouflage colours, air gun imported with two different End User Certificates, 20 pieces of optical sight wrapped in military camouflage uniform bags, mainly for rifles and grenade launchers, handcuff s, police official cardigans and drones.
Area Controller of the command, Comptroller Jayne Shoboiki, also disclosed that the command intercepted 108 cartons of expired (2009) beef imported into the country, pangolin scales and pharmaceutical products known as tramadol tablets with no registration number from the National Agency for Food Drug, Administration and Control (NAFDAC), to be exported out of the country. Shoboiki added that the military hardware imported into the country were intercepted at NAHCO shed of the airport.
She said, “Economic saboteurs should desist from illicit trade and allow sanity in our economy, as we must continue to carry out our statutory mandate of enforcing government trade policies. “The clearing agents should enlighten importers to desist from bringing into the country items that are absolutely prohibited. Military hardware are not to be imported by individuals, but must come into the country with an End User Certificate.”
Shoboiki expressed displeasure at the seized expired beef imported into the country, saying such item poses serious health hazards to Nigerians. She said, “We have enough fresh beef in this country; I see no reason for importing not just beef, but the expired one. The item, which is under import prohibition list, schedule 3, item 2 of the Common External Tariff (CET), was abandoned.
Effort made to arrest the consignee proved abortive, as the address mentioned does not exist.” The customs boss noted that the command collected 11.6 billion from January to March 2018. The amount represents 74.34 percent of the envisaged revenue target in the fi rst quarter.
