Lagos — The Importers Association of Nigeria (IMAN) has commended the Federal Government on the introduction of Cargo Tracking Note (CTN) scheme, saying the scheme would transform the maritime industry. It, however, faulted the position of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) for opposing it.

IMAN National Secretary, Kingsley Chikezie, said this at a sensitisation workshop on the implementation of the destination inspection scheme held at the Lagos Airport Hotel Ikeja, as he called on the organised private sector to consider the positive changes the scheme would bring into the nation's economy.

He said: "If members of the organised private sector are sincere, why have they not protested against seven per cent import surcharge levy, the transfer charges of containers to outer terminals and bonded warehouses, and the sale of auction containers? This entire burden is not the informal sector group's investments; they will not complain or protest because their goods are removed from the ports on fast track delivery in favour of alleged raw materials import.

"With the evolution of e-commerce in Customs operations, imports made by the OPS are taken on green lane of Asycuda++, physical examination of such imports is not allowed as long as it is routed on green lane. It is very simple for us to understand why they are protesting against CTN, it is because illegal documentation of items will be exposed".

While defending the scheme, Chikezie added: "To put the records straight, it is a fact that the issue of CTN was mooted since 2007 through the Federal Ministry of Transport and it was eventually approved by the presidency after due consultations with the Nigeria Customs Service, Attorney General and Minister of Justice and other major stakeholders in the security chain".

According to him, the concept of mandatory tracking of cargo was introduced by the United Nations (UN) through the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) under the International Ship and Ports Security (ISPS) code in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre in the United States.

"The ISPS code implementation requires that ships, person, port facilities and cargo should be guided and protected through a developed strategic security plan and CTN is expected to provide relevant information that would help to check maritime security threats caused by carriage of cargo through the sea, air and land borders.

On the alleged increment in the cost of doing business at the port by the OPS, Chukezie said: "The grouse of the Organised Private Sector group seems to be that with the introduction of the CTN into our maritime lexicon, the cost of doing business would go up. It is not true because CTN implementation has no economic cost in the first instance.

He noted that CTN is good for the nation in terms of the safety of cargo and the security of the Nigerian state and that its implementation has no economic cost to the shippers and the end users.

"CTN's implementation will help government to collect appropriate customs duty for development projects," he said.

Meanwhile, a Kano-based freight forwarder, Mohammed Bappa, said: "MAN has been insincere in its unrelenting propaganda against CTN especially in the face of the so-called toxic container. We have it on good grounds, and contrary to what MAN is making Nigerians to believe, that CTN actually made it possible to discover the container in question. The advanced information on that container came as a result of CTN and that is why I strongly recommend that henceforth, no goods must be allowed into this country without a CTN number."