Tin-Can Island: Customs threatens to withdraw officers over insufficient port equipment
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) over the weekend threatened to withdraw its men and officers from the Tin-Can Island Container Terminal (TICT) in Tin-Can port over absence of sufficient equipment at the port terminal.
Shedding more light on the outburst of the Tin-Can Customs Command Controller, Olakunle Oloyede, during a sensitisation meeting held last Thursday over the commencement of the non-intrusive technology at the ports, the Spokesman of the Tin-Can Customs Command, Uche Ejesieme revealed that TICT was told to improve its equipment if the terminal operator does not want the Service to withdraw its men and officers from the terminal.
Recall that during the Customs sensitisation meeting on the commencement of non-intrusive technology at the ports held last Thursday, the Tin-Can Customs Command Controller, Olakunle Oloyede, had revealed that he wrote the TICT, warning the terminal operator to either improve its equipment at the ports or risk having Customs officers withdrawn from the terminal.
Speaking on the matter at the weekend, image maker of the Customs Command, Uche Ejesieme, explained that TICT lacks enough container examination equipment to aid the seamless operation of Customs officers at the port terminal.
According to Ejesieme, “The controller, Tin-Can Customs Command was really angry at the TICT official over his statement that they (TICT) handle more containers than the expected 400 containers that the new scanners will do daily.
“The controller said that he wrote the TICT, threatening to withdraw his officers if they don’t improve equipment at their port terminal.
“What the controller meant was that TICT should provide enough office accommodation for Customs officers to carry out their jobs effectively at the port terminal.
“Again, TICT does not have enough equipment for stuffing and un-stuffing of containers at the port. A situation whereby Customs officers will be on the ground and there won’t be enough gantry equipment to aid the dropping of containers for examination is just not acceptable.
“So, the controller got angry because the TICT official was trying to claim what is not by saying that the terminal operator can actually handle more than 400 containers daily. Guess the TICT official forgot that the Tin-Can Customs Command controller was at that meeting.
“The number of equipment at TICT is not commensurate with the volume of containers that they are handling. The controller knows this, and that’s why he chided the TICT official over making false claims.
“The controller actually wrote to the TICT and some other terminals, warning them to provide enough equipment to enable Customs officers perform their jobs properly. In the letter, the Controller warned that if he cannot withdraw their concession license which is given by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), he can at least withdraw his officers from the terminal if port terminal equipment are not improved upon.
“The equipment in question are examination tools and proper working environment for Customs officers to carry out their duties at the ports.”
