The Nigerian Custom Service (NCS)
said it has deployed 11 gunboats to fight pirates and smugglers within the
Western waterways comprising Lagos and Ogun states respectively, saying that
the Service was forced to deploy its gunboats following the increasing number
of pirates who have resorted to the use of the waterways to carry out their
criminal activities.
The Custom Area Controller (CAC), Western Marine Command, Umar Yusuf made this disclosure in Lagos at a public destruction of about 2,000 cartons of imported frozen products. The products were said to have been seized by operatives of the command on Sunday and Monday at Badagry area of Lagos.
Yusuf explained that in addition to the 11 gunboats, two newly acquired gunboats would also be deployed soon to the Western waterways. He added that the war against smuggling, sea robbery and pipeline vandalism has just began.
He said: “In actualization of our pivotal role in the fight against smuggling, pipeline vandalism on our waters and the service quest and determination to block all channels of revenue loss, the management of the Western Marine Command decided to up its ante in terms of physical fitness and training of officers on the use of AK 47 assault rifles.
“It is also in realisation of this that the command also deployed 11 of its boats to sea on patrol. Two other boats acquired recently by the NCS would also join the 11 already deployed after commissioning. This is to beef up security around Lagos and Ogun waterways.
“The result of that sacrifice and commitment is what we are witnessing. This seizure of 1,583 cartons of frozen poultry products took place on the 6 and 7 of September, 2015 by our eagle eyed officers in collaboration with the Area intelligence officers who have been on maximum surveillance around Yekemeh, Badagry, and Idiroko axis.
“Since the launch of Operation Hawk Descend by the NCS on July 7, 2015, the Western Marine Command has made total seizure of 6,668 cartons of frozen poultry products.”
He explained that the resent seizure did not come easy as the gang of smugglers shot at the custom operatives in an attempt to retrieve their seized items.
“When my men went to carry the impounded frozen poultry products, the smugglers regrouped and attacked the custom men. I called Col. Yisa, at Ibereko Barracks in Badagry for assistance. It was the timely arrival of the soldiers that saved the situation,” he said.
Yusuf who applauded the inter-agency cooperation between the Custom and the Army, said he was going to ensure that the synergy adopted, is strengthened.
He advised smugglers to stay away from Western waterways or risk losing their entire investment when caught.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has been urged to support the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in its bid to boost the economy.
NPA, it was gathered, is set to double its revenue next year, after achieving 95 per cent of its target in the 2013 and 2014 budgets.
A senior official of the Federal Ministry of Finance, who craved anonymity, said at the weekend that things were expected to look upward, with the automation of NPA’s operations and its adoption of Revenue Invoicing Management Systems (RIMS).
The officials said under this arrangement, revenue leakages will be blocked and operational revenue improved.
With the port reforms, NPA is able to monitor terminal operators to track revenues through the automation platforms set up by its finance department.
“With the introduction of RIMS, the NPA management under the leadership of Mallam Habib Abdullahi will be able to track where the revenue is leaking and it was based on his commitment that they have been able to achieve over 95 per cent of their annual budget in the last three years.”
Findings however, revealed that a major impediment to NPA revenue drive is trade facilitation, while the management is working towards making the nation’s sea ports a hub in West Africa.
“To double its revenue and surpass the budget target, what NPA needs now is the trade facilitation role of other government agencies. NPA has put its house in order with the cadre of the people that are currently leading the agency. But there is need for the Federal Government to ensure that the role of other agencies makes it very easy for any of the land-locked countries in West and Central Africa to know that the goods that are passing through Nigerian ports are safe, secured and will be delivered wherever they are needed,” the official said.
Speaking with The Nation after launching RIMS, NPA Managing Director Abdullahi said the authority had “fully automated” the ports operations nationwide.
He said the NPA would continue to introduce initiatives in line with best practices to ensure that it remains efficient, transparent and accountable to stakeholders and the people.
“In February and September last year, we launched the Electronic Payment System and the Electronic Ship Entry Notice (E-Sen) as a first step towards full automation of our processes. This has tremendously improved efficiency in port operations as well as giving value to our esteemed stakeholders.
“The Revenue Invoicing Management System and Customer Portal which we have just introduced are fully convergent and real time platforms for our processes, which will lower operational cost and shorten the time for documentation. These platforms fully integrate the electronic flow of information for business–to–customer and business–to–business with higher availability and flexibility. The platforms are also fully integrated with all our existing solutions such as Oracle Financials, Oracle Human Capital Management, NPA Pay direct via Inter switch and Electronic Ship Entry Notice (eSEN).
“The introduction of this system has the potential to improve our service offering, improve our relationship with stakeholders, create efficient payment method, maximise revenue and minimise loss associated with fraud and revenue leakage.
“The Customer Self Service Portal (CSSP) on the other hand, provides a platform for our customers to initiate and conclude their business process with us and also communicate with NPA.
The benefits accruing from this portal, according to him, are: Improved customer service delivery; easy access to customer accounts status; view of all transactions and status in respect of bills; electronic upload of manifest; e-invoice and e-receipt generation.
“Similarly, our Billing Applications which are already operational in all port locations, will soon proceed to the next stage. Currently, it covers payment processes in areas such as Lease Fees, Service Boats, Passenger boats, General Bills (Jetties and Trawlers), and Oil Terminal Dues (OTD)/Compulsory Pilotage Rates (CPR). The next stage will cover Throughput Fees, Estate Bills and Provisional/Final Bills.
“The introduction of these measures will facilitate business growth with high performance and unlimited scalability of the operations of the authority. This is evident from statistics which have shown that cargo throughput increased from 46,150,518 metric tonnes in 2006 to 86,603,903 metric tonnes in 2014 indicating an 87 per cent increase during that period which is due in part to continued efforts at improving processes.
NPA’s Executive Director Finance and Administration Mr Olumide Oduntan said that RIMS solution will improve cargo-based revenue by 52 per cent within a year and 65 per cent subsequently.
Oduntan also said that the e-ship entry notice initiative introduced by the NPA has improved Gross Tonnage (GRT) based revenue by 38 per cent between 2014 and 2015.
His words: “The deployment of e-SEN and RIMS Solution by the NPA has blocked all leakages in our operational activities by 95 per cent and the remaining five per cent would be blocked upon the launch of a command and control centre which is expected to go on stream by the end of November, this year.”
Oduntan added that before the end of November this year, “operational leakages would be a thing of the past in NPA.”
The National Vice President, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) and Chairman – Dala Inland Dry Port, Kano, and Ahmad Rabiu said that they were happy with the giant stride so far taken by the NPA in its revenue drive..
“Nigerian Shippers, Cargo owners and shipping lines have a lot to benefit from the Revenue Invoicing Management Systems (RIMS) introduced by the NPA. It is an excellent initiative that will improve efficiency and save so much time and costs. NPA needs to keep it up.
“We are proud of the NPA and as we know that some of the operators’ ports of the neighboring countries like Cotonou are already crying due to the forex control measures. We must support the NPA and do more as Nigerians to block revenue leakages and distortions, improve efficiency and block channels for corruption in our ports.
Other stakeholders who spoke with the paper agreed that the introduction of the e-platforms by the NPA would boost their revenue base and make the agency contribute meaningfully to the economic calendar of the Federal Government.
The Custom Area Controller (CAC), Western Marine Command, Umar Yusuf made this disclosure in Lagos at a public destruction of about 2,000 cartons of imported frozen products. The products were said to have been seized by operatives of the command on Sunday and Monday at Badagry area of Lagos.
Yusuf explained that in addition to the 11 gunboats, two newly acquired gunboats would also be deployed soon to the Western waterways. He added that the war against smuggling, sea robbery and pipeline vandalism has just began.
He said: “In actualization of our pivotal role in the fight against smuggling, pipeline vandalism on our waters and the service quest and determination to block all channels of revenue loss, the management of the Western Marine Command decided to up its ante in terms of physical fitness and training of officers on the use of AK 47 assault rifles.
“It is also in realisation of this that the command also deployed 11 of its boats to sea on patrol. Two other boats acquired recently by the NCS would also join the 11 already deployed after commissioning. This is to beef up security around Lagos and Ogun waterways.
“The result of that sacrifice and commitment is what we are witnessing. This seizure of 1,583 cartons of frozen poultry products took place on the 6 and 7 of September, 2015 by our eagle eyed officers in collaboration with the Area intelligence officers who have been on maximum surveillance around Yekemeh, Badagry, and Idiroko axis.
“Since the launch of Operation Hawk Descend by the NCS on July 7, 2015, the Western Marine Command has made total seizure of 6,668 cartons of frozen poultry products.”
He explained that the resent seizure did not come easy as the gang of smugglers shot at the custom operatives in an attempt to retrieve their seized items.
“When my men went to carry the impounded frozen poultry products, the smugglers regrouped and attacked the custom men. I called Col. Yisa, at Ibereko Barracks in Badagry for assistance. It was the timely arrival of the soldiers that saved the situation,” he said.
Yusuf who applauded the inter-agency cooperation between the Custom and the Army, said he was going to ensure that the synergy adopted, is strengthened.
He advised smugglers to stay away from Western waterways or risk losing their entire investment when caught.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has been urged to support the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in its bid to boost the economy.
NPA, it was gathered, is set to double its revenue next year, after achieving 95 per cent of its target in the 2013 and 2014 budgets.
A senior official of the Federal Ministry of Finance, who craved anonymity, said at the weekend that things were expected to look upward, with the automation of NPA’s operations and its adoption of Revenue Invoicing Management Systems (RIMS).
The officials said under this arrangement, revenue leakages will be blocked and operational revenue improved.
With the port reforms, NPA is able to monitor terminal operators to track revenues through the automation platforms set up by its finance department.
“With the introduction of RIMS, the NPA management under the leadership of Mallam Habib Abdullahi will be able to track where the revenue is leaking and it was based on his commitment that they have been able to achieve over 95 per cent of their annual budget in the last three years.”
Findings however, revealed that a major impediment to NPA revenue drive is trade facilitation, while the management is working towards making the nation’s sea ports a hub in West Africa.
“To double its revenue and surpass the budget target, what NPA needs now is the trade facilitation role of other government agencies. NPA has put its house in order with the cadre of the people that are currently leading the agency. But there is need for the Federal Government to ensure that the role of other agencies makes it very easy for any of the land-locked countries in West and Central Africa to know that the goods that are passing through Nigerian ports are safe, secured and will be delivered wherever they are needed,” the official said.
Speaking with The Nation after launching RIMS, NPA Managing Director Abdullahi said the authority had “fully automated” the ports operations nationwide.
He said the NPA would continue to introduce initiatives in line with best practices to ensure that it remains efficient, transparent and accountable to stakeholders and the people.
“In February and September last year, we launched the Electronic Payment System and the Electronic Ship Entry Notice (E-Sen) as a first step towards full automation of our processes. This has tremendously improved efficiency in port operations as well as giving value to our esteemed stakeholders.
“The Revenue Invoicing Management System and Customer Portal which we have just introduced are fully convergent and real time platforms for our processes, which will lower operational cost and shorten the time for documentation. These platforms fully integrate the electronic flow of information for business–to–customer and business–to–business with higher availability and flexibility. The platforms are also fully integrated with all our existing solutions such as Oracle Financials, Oracle Human Capital Management, NPA Pay direct via Inter switch and Electronic Ship Entry Notice (eSEN).
“The introduction of this system has the potential to improve our service offering, improve our relationship with stakeholders, create efficient payment method, maximise revenue and minimise loss associated with fraud and revenue leakage.
“The Customer Self Service Portal (CSSP) on the other hand, provides a platform for our customers to initiate and conclude their business process with us and also communicate with NPA.
The benefits accruing from this portal, according to him, are: Improved customer service delivery; easy access to customer accounts status; view of all transactions and status in respect of bills; electronic upload of manifest; e-invoice and e-receipt generation.
“Similarly, our Billing Applications which are already operational in all port locations, will soon proceed to the next stage. Currently, it covers payment processes in areas such as Lease Fees, Service Boats, Passenger boats, General Bills (Jetties and Trawlers), and Oil Terminal Dues (OTD)/Compulsory Pilotage Rates (CPR). The next stage will cover Throughput Fees, Estate Bills and Provisional/Final Bills.
“The introduction of these measures will facilitate business growth with high performance and unlimited scalability of the operations of the authority. This is evident from statistics which have shown that cargo throughput increased from 46,150,518 metric tonnes in 2006 to 86,603,903 metric tonnes in 2014 indicating an 87 per cent increase during that period which is due in part to continued efforts at improving processes.
NPA’s Executive Director Finance and Administration Mr Olumide Oduntan said that RIMS solution will improve cargo-based revenue by 52 per cent within a year and 65 per cent subsequently.
Oduntan also said that the e-ship entry notice initiative introduced by the NPA has improved Gross Tonnage (GRT) based revenue by 38 per cent between 2014 and 2015.
His words: “The deployment of e-SEN and RIMS Solution by the NPA has blocked all leakages in our operational activities by 95 per cent and the remaining five per cent would be blocked upon the launch of a command and control centre which is expected to go on stream by the end of November, this year.”
Oduntan added that before the end of November this year, “operational leakages would be a thing of the past in NPA.”
The National Vice President, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) and Chairman – Dala Inland Dry Port, Kano, and Ahmad Rabiu said that they were happy with the giant stride so far taken by the NPA in its revenue drive..
“Nigerian Shippers, Cargo owners and shipping lines have a lot to benefit from the Revenue Invoicing Management Systems (RIMS) introduced by the NPA. It is an excellent initiative that will improve efficiency and save so much time and costs. NPA needs to keep it up.
“We are proud of the NPA and as we know that some of the operators’ ports of the neighboring countries like Cotonou are already crying due to the forex control measures. We must support the NPA and do more as Nigerians to block revenue leakages and distortions, improve efficiency and block channels for corruption in our ports.
Other stakeholders who spoke with the paper agreed that the introduction of the e-platforms by the NPA would boost their revenue base and make the agency contribute meaningfully to the economic calendar of the Federal Government.
Custom Deploys 11 gunboats to fight piracy, smuggling
![Custom Deploys 11 gunboats to fight piracy, smuggling]()
Reviewed by Vita Ioanes
on
Thursday, September 10, 2015
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