Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, NPA MD
The premises of the Lilypond Export Processing Terminal, at Apapa, Lagos, has been
occupied by hundreds of Exports trucks and trailers waiting for weeks to access the
ports but to no avail simply because of the quagmire generated by the revised National
Export Proceed Policy, referred to as NXP, by the federal government, as implemented
by the Management of the Nigerian Ports Authority, the NPA.
The National Exports Proceed form, is a mandatory statutory document which all
Exporters must complete, for the shipment of goods outside the country and it is used to
declare the details of the export commodity, including the type of goods, its quantity, it’s
value, the destination and must be completed electronically.
Before now, under the NXP, the process did not involve Containers being included in
it, because the process is online related, an equivalent of Form M, so it does not need
containers to be ready before one’s Form M, is approved. It is the Pre – Shipment
Inspection Agents who load a container, after having stuffed it, followed with a parking
list, the invoice which states the container number, and this is downloaded on the App.
The NXP is therefore comparable to Form M, when importing while it is involved
when exporting and very similar to the Pre – Arrival Assessment Report, PAAR, and in
the Report, there’s no requirement for container number and it is only when the
Importer submits his final document that he would signify the mode of transport hence
the need for container number.
Exporters under the aegis of the Association of West African Exporters and
Maritime Professionals, AWAEMAP, therefore say, if that’s about Imports, it is
supposed to be like that in Exports, whereby the NXP naturally should not carry the
container number until it gets to the final stage in the export side being an equivalent of
PAAR in the Import side.
It was this change from the older method to the new one by the NPA, that becomes
the bone of contention as the AWAEMAP members and other Stakeholders raised an
alarm over the undue delay and the challenge this new policy has brought unto them,
knowing the peculiarity of time, perishable nature of exports goods and the loses they
stand to suffer when the goods get to foreign markets and get disqualified.and rejected.
At an interactive session organised by the Customs Area Controller of the Nigeria
Customs Service, Lilypond Export Processing Command in Apapa, Controller Ajibola
Odunsanya, expressed disappointment over the fate of the Stakeholders regarding the
delays, the cumbersome nature of the new policy, which the Stakeholders say , is not
working for them, hence calling on the NPA, the Nigerian Export Promotion Council,
the Trucks and Trailer Parks Official, as well as the Management of the Export
Processing Terminal to profer solutions towards ameliorating the situation.
The Customs Boss however noted that a level playing field should be explored by
deliberating on how to arrive at even a short term solution for all the Parties which
include the Customs, the Exporters, Representatives ot the Trucks and TrailersPark and
that of the Export Processing Terminal.
He noted that the National Export Proceeds with full container number before the
goods can enter the port, via the electronic call up, Customs had been able to take care
of the non – commercial export through the idea brought by the Officers and the Trucks
and Trailers Park Officials and there is no issue with those but the issue now is with
those for commercial exports.
He however praised the Truckers for their level of comportment by not becoming
volatile in the midst of the situation.
Representing the Management of the NPA, Mr Kolesho, who represented Manager
Operations, emphasized that the NXP is not an NPA policy rather it is that of the federal
government, which the Customs are aware of and according to him, involves the
movement of export to the ports, he recalled last year when the members of the
AWAEMAP visited the NPA headquarters on the same issue, an agreement was reached,
that since it is government policy and driven by the NPA, the Exporters should go back
to the Presidential Enabling Environment Council, PEBEC, on whatever observations
they have observed and address it at that level as NPA cannot, on it’s own drop the NXP
policy.
He also cited a recent incident concerning some containers which were not able to
access the ports because of the same NXP issue and it was resolved that the Trucks and
Trailers Park Officials should liaise with the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigeria
Customs to fine-tune the policy.
” What actually happened was that most of those containers did not have NXP, it was
like they were not adhering to the requirements of the policy but, the long and short of
it, is that NPA cannot drop the policy”.
Controller Odunsanya however agreed that the NXP is a government policy and the
Customs was never against it but noted that, when deploying these applications, what
needs to be realized, is that, in so far as all NXP must have a container number attached
to it, there would be no need to look at the process of NXP from first stage to the last
stage, at one stage to have container attached to NXP, if waited till that stage, he
therefore questioned what will be the issues hence arranging for the meeting to address
the issue.
Representing the Stakeholders present, An Exporter, Alhaji Nafiu, explained that,
the whole issue has to do with the interest of the nation, noting that the NXP being a
government policy, nobody was asking the NPA to step it out as they are aware it came
from the Finance Ministry.
He noted that the NPA was more keen in transport but not vey much about trade and
commerce hence histaking time to explain the way they had been processing export
under the same policy until the recent twist by the NPA, which is making it difficult for
the Stakeholders.
Also appealing to the NPA, not to throw away a baby with the bath water, the
Representative of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, the South West Zonal
Director of the Council, Mr Ganiu Gbolagala tasked the NPA to carry everyone along
under the situation, taking into cognisance the time consciousness of the export
business, the perishable goods laden in the Containers which cannot access the ports
and loss of schedules of Shipping companies and the possible losses to incur by the
Exporters, hence calling for an urgent meeting for all parties involved.
A Representative of the Diamond Star Export Processing Terminal in Apapa, Lagos,
Mr Rosa Oladipo expatiated that , for Export trucks to be released to go to the ports,
they must be listed at the CBN portal and the NXP number must be valid and be traced
too, noting that there has been an issue of forty percent of export containers not being at
the Pre – shipment Inspection Terminal, so the delay has posed a great concern hence
the need to address these issues with feedback from the Exporters.
In his exasperation over the confusion arising from the implementation of the new
policy, an Exporter, Mr Bunmi Olumegbon noted that the policy is not promoting trade
and it is a very slow process.
