Importers and Licensed Customs Agents (LCAs) have called on the Federal Government to urgently intervene to grant waiver concessions on imported goods held up at the ports due to delays caused by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) B’Odogwu platform.
In a letter addressed to President Bola Tinubu on August 23, 2025, the National President of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Lucky Amiwero, described the prolonged delays as a major disruption to trade and a source of unpredictable costs for importers, with demurrage and terminal rents running into millions of naira.
Amiwero explained that the platform’s inefficiencies prevent importers from processing trade documents, forcing some to borrow funds from banks to pay additional charges, while others abandon their goods at the port.
The association stated that under current regulations, such goods are now at risk of auction by the NCS within 14 days if they remain uncleared.
The NCMDLCA highlighted that previous interventions, such as the transfer of uncleared goods to the Federal Government warehouse in Ikorodu, had provided relief to importers and the economy by allowing goods to be cleared without auction.
Amiwero stressed that Section 152 of the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) provides for waiver, reduction, or refund of rents and demurrage in such circumstances, noting that the current delays are attributable to NCS operational failures rather than importers’ negligence.
He said, however, the new glitches have reportedly returned the clearance process to pre-2014 inefficiencies, which importers experienced delays before the intervention of the Coordination Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance during the period.
“The Concession should be granted by waiver of the additional payments made by Licensed Customs Agents and importers to terminal operators and shipping companies, to ease the burden on the economy and reduce tension at the ports,” Amiwero said.
The NCMDLCA further emphasised the urgent need for the government’s intervention to mitigate financial losses for importers and support the smooth flow of goods into the economy.
