- The Customs Area Controller, Ports and Terminal Multiservices Limited Command, Tenny Daniyan, presenting a plague to the President, Shipping Correspondents’ Association of Nigeria, Moses Ebosele, during the association’s courtesy visit to the command in Lagos
By Anthony Nwachukwu
On the back of the successes in trade facilitation since the October 2024 pilot deployment of the Unified Customs Management System, also known as B’Odogwu, the Ports and Terminal Multiservices Limited (PTML) Command has set sight on one-hour cargo clearance at the command.
Disclosing the target, the Customs Area Controller, Compt. Tenny Daniyan, tasked agents and importers on compliant trades and honest declarations as the only basis to enjoy seamless cargo clearance.
Compt. Daniyan, who while addressing issues during a courtesy visit by the Shipping Correspondents’ Association of Nigeria (SCAN), stated that “if you are a compliant trader, you don’t have issues.
“We give you one hour, not even two hours, to get your consignment. That is what we are working towards. But we can only achieve one-hour cargo clearance depending on who is making the declaration.”
Excited at the successes with B’Odogwu so far, Daniyan disclosed that the platform has facilitated N230 billion revenue at the PTML Command since deployment, with N147.3 billion collected since this year – a proof that it is working well.
According to him, B’Odogwu is a Nigerian digital technology that has come to change the narrative in customs operations, in spite of the challenges with the new technology, which he said are over 90 per cent resolved already.
“PTML being the pilot command, I will say that over 90 per cent of the challenges that will be envisaged in other areas are been resolved here,” Daniyan stated, adding that other commands would not face any technical issue when deployed.
Rather, “they may have stakeholder issues – either those that refuse to come into the platform or those not bringing good declarations. This is because B’odogwu is a more robust and more secure platform with some AI features that can help do a proper classification of things, and has some features that are not in NICIS.”
Meanwhile, the comptroller commended the Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, for the confidence to initiate the platform, which he said has become Nigeria’s pride today. According to Daniyan, “B’Odogwu is working for us, and we have realised over N230 billion so far. If it is not working with you, it means you are not doing the right thing.
According to him, a major plus with the platform, which he calls “our baby”, is that it is fully Nigerian and does not need a third party to resolve an issue, unlike the Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System, where you will have to translate and then send to a foreign country to solve a problem.
The CGC, he said, “wants to leave his footprints in the sands of time,” and sees customs not of today but of the future, and is concerned about how to save the Nigerian government huge amount of money that is going to foreigners in capital flight on NICIS.
Earlier, the SCAN President, Moses Ebosele, commended the CAC for his open-door policy and thanked him for the cordial relationship between PTML Command and journalists, while also appreciating his giant strides, especially in trade facilitation, revenue collection and stakeholder capacity building.
Meanwhile, in a related development, the command last week organised a second phase sensitisation on Form M and Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) generation on B’Odogwu portal for clearing agents and stakeholders.
Daniyan urged the agents to support the customs automation process and also be free to seek support whenever there are challenges, while promising further enlightenment whenever issues arise or stakeholders request.
