Clearing agents and other port users in Lagos have raised the alarm over the activities of officials of the Federal Operations Unit (FOU) Zone A of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) along the Wharf Road, Apapa, Lagos, accusing the officials of worsening the Apapa gridlock.
The concerned stakeholders say the FOU officials – stationed along the busy Leventis Bus Stop on Wharf Road – stop trucks indiscriminately thereby impeding the free flow of traffic on the narrow road, which is the only exit for trucks and vehicles out of Apapa.
The FOU officials stop container trucks coming from the Lagos Port Complex Apapa and the Tin Can Island Port Complex for re-check.
Some clearing agents decried the activities of the operatives, which they say is contrary to an earlier stance by the Comptroller General of Customs, Hameed Ali, that FOU operatives would only operate 40 kilometres away from the port.
Publicity Secretary, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Stanley Ezenga, described the activities of the FOU operatives as illegal.
“Their stay there in all ramifications is illegal. The Comptroller-General (of Customs) at one of the stakeholders’ forum said Customs FOU shall not be stationary but they should be roving operators but it is a general knowledge today that they have stationed themselves at Leventis. They were also joined there by the Strike Force team and other intervention force created by the CG.
“If you reside within Apapa and you want to leave between 3pm and 4pm at the peak time when workers must have closed for the day, you will see the traffic the activities of FOU usually cause at Leventis stretch down to Eleganza Bus Stop because that is when most of the containers leave the port after they finish their documentation.
“The trucks are articulated vehicles and so by the time you stop two or three on that road, the vehicles coming from behind will not have space to manoeuvre and when those coming from work join the queue, it becomes very chaotic,” he said.
A clearing agent, Frank Okezie said, “I don’t know why we should be talking about this issue as this time and age; to me it is misnomer. If Customs has inspected and released from the port and less than three kilometres, we have another unit of Customs checking again, it is a shame.
When contacted, Public Relations Officer, FOU, Jerry Attah, stated that the officers are stationed there to carry out their legitimate duty, stressing that Customs would not facilitate ease of doing business at the expense of national security.
