Stakeholders reject proposed e-Customs modernization
Stakeholders reject proposed e-Customs modernization
By Eguono Odjegba
Principal
stakeholders in the port industry has described the proposed electronic Customs
Modernisation Project as costly
duplication of the function of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, and have
called on President Muhammadu Buhari to discard the proposal, which they
further described as fraudulent with the trappings of a national rip off.
They urged
both the president and the federal executive council to scrutinize the deal as
well the consortium of four private firms it was contracted to, with a view to
determine and expose those involved, to serve as deterrence in the fight
against corruption.
The project which
was presented as an initiative of the Federal Government to concession the
revenue-collection function of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, has also faced
opposition from other quarters, including the House of Representatives, which
faulted the project earlier this year on the ground that it did not follow the
due process.
The House of
Representatives subsequently passed a resolution suspending its implementation
until it is subjected to legislative hearing and public bid.
The
stakeholders made up of importers, customs brokers, freight forwarders and
logistics providers argue that the source of the project is not only doubtful
but that the project runs contrary to the mantra of the present government on
issues of corporate governance and integrity, financial prudence and aversion
to wastage.
A letter
purportedly from the State House signed by the chief of staff to the president,
Abbah Kyari, now late, had directed the Attorney General and Minister of
Justice, Ministers of Finance and Budget and Planning, to finalize the
concession agreement between the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory
Commission, ICRC, Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, and a Special Purpose Vehicle
company for the deal, latest 17th September 2019, before it was
placed under legislative hammer.
Also known as
‘e-Customs Project’, it was designed as a digital/paperless Customs
administration in revenue-collection, with a start-up $300 million portfolio
fee to be drawn from the Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme, CISS,
domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Nigerian Export Supervision
Scheme, NESS, and Customs revenue.
According to
the project’s framework, the CISS and NESS revenue sharing arrangement is to
“commence on a pro-rata basis against the phase one of the $300 million
investment programme”, purportedly upon commissioning of investments and
verifiable by CBN’s Letters of Credit or valid import documentation.
To guarantee
performance, the project according to presidential directive as contained in
the said State House letter, in addition recommended appropriate termination
clause, “effective if the consortium is unable to reach financial close within
nine months of the concession agreement being effective.”
The maritime
stakeholders argue that the project which has Bionica Technologies West Africa
Limited as sponsors; Bergan Security Consultants and Supplies as co-sponsors;
African Finance Corporation, AFC, lead financiers and Huawei Nigeria as
partners are costly duplication of the function of the NCS.
President of
the National Council of Managing Directors of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents,
NCMDLCA, Lucky Amiwero, described the project is an unnecessary duplication and
wastage of tax payers money.
“Any payment
made in respect of the new contract is an illegal payment and misapplication of
scarce national resources. We already have e-Customs on ground. It is wrong to
be making payments on such project when the old functioning one is the one
doing the job.”
“It is wrong
to start talking of giving the same job to four private companies. What new
thing are they coming to do? I am talking as an expert. I was in the
Presidential Committee in 2010 and I served as a subcommittee chairman too. The
Webb Fontain platform has been good all through. When the Pre-Arrival
Assessment Report, PAAR, system failed, former Minister of Finance, Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala reverted to that platform, and it has been good for the service
with regard to efficient revenue collection and trade facilitation.”
He also
expressed reservation about the competence of the listed project contractors.
“The four companies are not experts in trade facilitation. They don’t have any
background qualifying them for such job, even if it becomes necessary, but in
this case, it is not. All we need to do as a country is to audit and maybe
upgrade at a lesser cost.”
Also
speaking, Chairman of Skelas Group, Prince Olayiwola Shittu said, “I don’t want
to rule out the fact that modernization can be useful, but if the experience
from PAAR is going to be repeated, if the reason people are saying they should
privatize customs collection of duty, is because it is nobody’s job, then that
is political, that is finding food for the boys. Why do we need to be paying
for what we can do? But so far, what they want to do is still shrouded in
secrecy, we have only heard rumour about what they want to modernize, why the
secrecy and failure to carry stakeholders along during the conception?”, he
asked.
Corroborating,
National President of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents,
ANLCA, Iju Tony Nwabunike said “We have heard that the project was not known to
the presidency, that some interested foreigners and some Nigerian fronts
packaged the project in secret. The secret surrounding the project is a signal
that something is not right.
“Now that
Abba Kyari is dead who I understand was the arrow head, nothing stops President
Buhari from studying the said proposal among the many others projects sources
say were found in the late Abba Kyari’s office and are been looked into, and
making a statement afterwards.”
As
commenting, a retired Comptroller of Customs who does not want his name
mentioned, argue that the whole project idea is to allow some people siphon
public fund.
He said:
“This has been an issue from the days when we were in Customs. They want to
take the Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme, CISS, collected from Free On
Board, FOB. Ironically, it is foreigners that were collecting this money all
through the pre-shipment inspection time.
“When we came
back to Destination Inspection, it was reverted and that is what they have been
struggling to collect back. As far as I am concerned, Customs has been properly
modernized, the Secretary-General of World Customs Organisation attested to
that during his visit to Nigeria recently.
“E-Customs has always been there at least
starting from 2000 and has passed very rigorous scale. Customs has done
tremendously well in that area. So, for anybody to say they want to put in $300
million to modernise Customs is a fraud and anybody supporting it is an enemy
of Nigeria.”
It will be
recalled that some lawmakers last year also challenged the controversial deal
on the floor of the House of Representatives. In a letter titled: “Suspension
of proposed concession arrangement for the Customs modernisation project”,
jointly signed by Chairman House Committee on Finance, James Faleke;
Chairman Public Petition, Jerry Alagbaoso, and Chairman Customs, Yuguda Hassan
Kila, the lawmakers described the proposed concession as “curious.”
Consequent on
the legislative order raised, the lawmakers passed a resolution directing the
ministers affected by the controversial presidential order to stay action on its
implementation.
Available
records have shown that the NCS collected more than N569 billion as at the end
of May 2020 using its present system- the Webb Fontain platform. Every
parameter of measurement also projects that with above revenue figure collected
first five months of 2020, the Customs Service stand the chance of meeting and
surpassing its N900 billion revenue target for 2020, despite the huge trade
disruptions caused by Covid-19 pandemic.
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