The Executive Secretary of Nigerian Shippers Council, Rt. Hon Emmanuel Jime has sought collaboration with Nigeria Police Force for the implementation of International Cargo Tracking Note (ICTN) at the nation’s ports.
Jime made the appeal during a courtesy visit by the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Maritime Police Command, AIG Yekini Adio Ayoku to the Council’s Headquarters in Lagos.
Jime congratulated the AIG Ayoku for the new assignment and commended his wealth of knowledge on the maritime sector even before assuming office. He also assured the new Police boss of the unwavering support of the Council in achieving his aspirations at the ports.
“The CTN would provide intelligence that human capacity might not be able to gather, with this, we would identify from port of origin, total content of what is coming on a vessel in all containers, we would identify breeches before they arrive our shores.
I believe that partnering with you would you provide evidence ahead of the arrival of such vessels and would help nip in the bud any infractions that would arrive our port. The proliferation of arms and ammunition would also be eliminated with the ICTN” Jime assured
He went on to say, “The Council would not be able to carry out its mandate as port economic regulator in an atmosphere of insecurity, and herein comes the partnership with the Police Force for safety of human Life.
In terms of training and logistics for the police, the Council has been doing this in the past and it would do it better”.
Jime went ahead to caution the police against incessant detention of containers at port corridors.
“Whenever we meet with the police, the issue of inordinate delays in cargo clearance comes up. As we are all aware, this has a detrimental effect on our economy.
The accumulation of demurrage and storage charges which are as a result of detention of containers, is something that Nigerian Shippers’ Council see as major concern and have put it on the front burners at every meeting with the police.
Congestion in the seaport due to non-release of containers which ought to have been evacuated to make room for incoming cargoes, has constituted barriers to running our ports efficiently. One of the reasons for this congestion is detention of containers. In the course of intelligence gathering by the police, you are able to identify breeches, and it is your responsibility to ensure the breeches are addressed.
I am confident that with you in the saddle, we would be able to address this, but I am also appealing to you that, we should be more creative in the manner with which we gather intelligence, so that it would help us identify areas we need and avoid detention of containers.
Speaking, AIG Ayoku assured that the Nigerian Police would continue to support Shippers Council and other relevant stakeholders in the maritime sector.
“I am not oblivious of the importance of this sector to the Nigerian economy, apart from the oil, this sector contributes immensely to the Nigerian economy, so, we are willing to cooperate to ensure all the necessary support to achieve a seamless operation in the sector is actualized.
The police would not allow proliferation and influx of dangerous cargoes including arms and ammunition which according to him is the main driver of the insecurity being experienced across the country.
In my experience, having served as CP Kaduna State, the insecurity we have in the country today are influx of arms, ammunition, drugs among others. All these things find their way into the country through the port and land channels, so all hands must be on deck to help curb this menace.
I am sure that your Council would also support us in actualizing our Constitutional mandate. We are aware of the government policies on doing business and the imperatives of trade facilitation, we also want a balancing act in that aspect too, so our nations’ security is not in jeopardy”.
