Obi appeals for immediate dismantling of customs check points

www.odogwublog.com reports that the former Gov. of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi has called for immediate dismantling of so many customs and allied check points on the roads.

 Obi made  this call yesterday when journalists requested clarification of his key note address   during the end of the year meeting of Diamond brothers club at Oriental Hotel, Lagos, yesterday.

 Explaining, Obi said that some people visited him at his  Onitsha home to complain about the hardship people undergo because of countless Customs check points on the roads, especially in the South-East. Obi said that to have first hand information about the complaint, that he had to travel by road from Lagos to Onitsha. He described the situation as  worrisome and counter productive.

 Speaking further, Obi wondered if the roads in Nigeria have become wharfs or borders  to warrant many Customs check points on them. "We know that customs police our borders to, among other things, guard against smuggling of banned goods, but if they do this effectively at the borders, as obtainable in other countries, there would not be need for customs check points all over the place."

Obi noted that he observed  over 10 check points from Ore to Onitsha.  He said that in this time of recession, that what was more worrisome was that they stop travelers and demand customs papers, clearance papers for vehicles, including those  bought several years ago. "Even families coming home for Christmas were stopped and the rice  they were given as gifts in their offices or they bought in open market confiscated under the presence that they are foreign rice.

Obi appealed to the Comptroller  General of Customs to look with interest at what is happening and to completely overhaul their mode of operations, by targeting those importing banned goods at the borders and not innocent Nigerians trying painfully to eek living.

 While commending customs for their contributions to the growth and development of the country, Obi argued that taking their check points to places that have or ought to have no need of them is  subjecting the people to undeserved hardships.