It was in an atmosphere of jubilation and excitement that the 2021 awards ceremony of the Association of Maritime Journalists of Nigeria (AMJON) took place on Friday November 19.
Point News247 reports that the event held at the prestigious Sheraton Hotel Ikeja on Friday, 19th November, 2021.
The event tagged; ‘Seamless Port Operations in Nigeria’, commenced with a paper presentation by the chairman of the event, Hon. Iju Tony Nwabunike, President of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents ( ANLCA).
In his presentation, Nwabunike mentioned that; “A Customs Broker plays pivotal roles as the middleman in logistics management, as well as physical movement of cargo from the point of origin to the consignee’s warehouse, thereby contributing tremendously to seamless cargo clearance and port operations” in several ways.
Nwabunike proffered the following solutions to the myriad of challenges millitating against seamless port operations in Nigeria; “Government should provide scanners and modern facilities to fast track cargo examination and seamless port operations.”
“Activities of government agencies at the seaport should be streamlined, to reduce the number of agencies performing similar functions within the same port.”
He further added that; “Government should give Customs Brokers incentives for their contributions to huge revenue generation through payments of import duties and other charges for cargo clearance. For instance, government can give Customs Brokers 2% of revenue collection every month to expand their operations and stay afloat in business.In the same vein, government should give bailout to Customs Brokers who lost their investments to the ravaging effects of COVID-19 pandemic and the lock-down.”
The event continued with several industry stakeholders receiving awards for their contribution in the maritime sector.