The full implementation of the recently launched trade platform, B’odogwu, will cut cargo clearance time at the Tin-Can Island Command of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to two hours.
This was disclosed on Wednesday by the Customs Area Controller of the command, Compt. Frank Onyeka, when the newly elected executive of the Shipping Correspondents Association of Nigeria (SCAN) paid him a courtesy visit.
According to the CAC, the development will
enhance trade facilitation, increase revenue and ease of doing business at the command.
“Under normal circumstances, if you declare properly at TinCan port, with B’odogwu, you can move your cargoes in two hours.”
Onyeka also disclosed that the revenue generation profile of the command kept soaring as it generated N145 billion in the month of April 2025.
The CAC noted that the major challenge facing the implementation of B’odogwu remains a knowledge gap among stakeholders.
According to him, intensive training and sensitisation programmes are ongoing to ensure that importers, clearing agents, and shipping lines are brought up to speed with the automated system.
He said, “If you were here yesterday (Tuesday) morning, or even the day before (Monday), you would have seen us in active training sessions.
“We have been training ourselves, the clearing agents, importers, and even the shipping companies. The main issue we are facing is a lack of knowledge.”
Onyeka explained that the Command has taken proactive steps to bridge this gap through hands-on sensitisation efforts.
“We held a practical session here where we showed them the right buttons to press.
“That’s the level of engagement we are doing now. I signed letters to shipping companies today (Wednesday) because we gathered that part of the delay is due to poor sensitization.”
He warned stakeholders against lying about the items on cargoes, noting that the appropriate declaration of items would eliminate time wastage during cargo clearance at the ports.
“If you declare appropriately, there is no reason cargo should stay 24 hours. Implementation is key. We are here to make it work,” he said.
“One of the things we have told them is to declare appropriately. If there are no lies about the declaration, if there is no falsehood about it, everything must be seamless.”
“If you are carrying a telephone on your bill, upon examination, I see the telephone and you pay that appropriately, you don’t need to waste time.
“Where we have time wasted, where we have issues, is a lack of proper declaration.
“Now, imagine somebody telling me you have papers, and upon the examination, I find generators.
“If I say, refer to CAC, that’s an alert that will not go until my intervention comes in,” he added.
He also revealed that stakeholder feedback has been valuable in refining the platform.
“Every complaint and suggestion is being taken seriously.
“We’ve already implemented a few changes based on what agents and shipping lines shared during training.”
Speaking earlier, the President of SCAN, Moses Ebosele, commended the CAC for his open door policy, adding that members of SCAN are guided by the ethics of the profession.
