NSC Pays Visit to IGP, Calls for Better Working Relationship.
Oru Leonard
The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), led by the Executive Secretary, Mr. Hassan Bello has called for better working relationship and collaboration with the Nigerian Police Force.
Mr Hassan Bello stated this during a visit to the Inspector-General of Police, Ag. IGP, Mohammed Adamu on Wednesday 16 February, 2019,at the Police Headquarters at Abuja, Nigeria.
Highlighting the need for the collaboration in his address, the Executive Secretary of the Council, Hassan Bello said the collaboration will help reduce the cargo dwell time.
He said: “Our ports have the unenviable reputation of being one of the ports with the longest cargo dwell time in the world. For example, while it takes 21 days to clear cargo in Nigeria, it takes three days in Lome, Togo; less than seven days in Cotonou, Benin Republic and only six hours in Singapore.
“Several efforts by the government to reduce cargo dwell time at our ports have not yielded any remarkable improvement. We experience excessive delays leading to high cost of cargo clearance due to accumulation of storage charges on the detained containers as well as unreceipted payments to free the detained containers.
“We experience congestion at the seaports due to non-release of containers which ought to be evacuated from the ports to the free flow of international trade and make room for incoming ones. Poor rating of our ports due to long cargo dwell time of the detained containers.
Unfriendly business envrionmnet leading to diversion of Nigeria-bound cargo to neighbouring ports, such as Ports in Bnein Republic, thereby boosting the international trade of the neighbouring countries and robbing Nigeria of much needed revenue from its international trade.
We wish to solicit the assistance of the IGP to make an order under Part XI of the Nigeria Police Regulations 1968, stopping the police from interfering with clearance processes at the ports because such interference causes delay. Such delays lead to high costs and congestions at the ports, thereby affecting the efficiency of the ports and distorting the free flow of international trade.
We also solicit the assistance of the IGP in the handling of cases of export fraud through the Interpol in order to get redress for Nigerian business men who are being defrauded by overseas trading partners frequently.
The NSC can work with the Interpol department of the Nigeria Police to investigate and apprehend such fraudsters in order to reduce the menace of export fraud affecting Nigeria exporters.
We wish to express our appreciation to the Inspector General of Police and the entire Nigerian Police for their great support to Nigerian Shippers’ Council in the course of performing our regulatory functions at the ports in line with the mandate given to the Council by the Federal Government. The Nigerian Police has been working with Nigerian Shippers’ Council on the enforcement of compliance with regulatory directives. You graciously gave us 9 officers though we may ask for more. This has greatly enhanced the entrenchment of order and sanity in the way business is conducted in our Port Sector.
We thank the Inspector-General of Police for giving us audience and we look forward to a good working relationship between Nigerian Shippers’ Council and the Nigeria Police in the area of improving the ease of doing business in Nigeria.”
On his part, the Ag. Inspector General of the Nigeria Police Force disclosed the readiness of the Force to partner with the Nigerian Shippers’ Council in order to boost the efficiency of the ports.
The IG said the partnership would enhance efficiency in the area of cargo clearance and evacuation from the ports, thereby reducing the cost of doing business in the ports across the country.
The Police chief also said that his administration will not tolerate officers disrupting business processes at the port and stated that personnel of the Force and staff of the Council will undergo joint training that will boost their working relationship.
Adamu said: “The role of the police in the port is the prevent crime, and if crime is committed, it is our role to investigate and prosecute offenders. Our presence at the port is to encourage business people to do their businesses with ease.
“Our presence will also make people who have business to transact at the port feel safe. We will not allow a situation where policemen will be part of the problems businessmen and women are facing at our ports because we are meant to be solutions and not to cause problems.”
On the training, he said: “We will intensify specialized trainings for police personnel on special duties to understand their roles which would boost better working relationship between the Force and the Council.”
