By Frank Odinukaeze
The clamour by some stakeholders, particularly freight agents, that the E-customs Concession project constitutes security a threat to the nation, has been described as a propaganda.
Former Chairman of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA) Ikeja chapter and Managing Director Chief Executive Officer(CEO), Widescope International Nigeria Limited, Dr Segun Musa stated this in an interview with 108Scoop in Lagos.
Musa said the e-customs modernization concession agreement was a fiscal policy of the government and that there was nothing anyone could do about it.
Recall that the e-customs project suffered a setback following an Abuja Federal High Court injunction restraining the federal government from going on with the concession agreement, pending the determination of the suit filed against it by two companies.
But in a swift reaction, the Nigeria Customs Service NCS also approached the court to vacate that position.
Musa noted that the court had only done what they are supposed to do procedurally.
“The interim injunction that the court granted is just the normal procedure in order to hear from the other party. And that is what customs has done now, to go to court to explain that this is a fiscal policy of the government,” he said.
He argued that the concession agreement with the Chinese firm, Huawei Technologies does not pose a security threat to the nation.
He said the freight agents claiming that it would injure the nation’s security architecture does not have the competence to say so.
“It’s not the freight forwarders’ headache to talk about security implications. It’s not part of our competence to talk about,” he said.
He argued that those who are now talking about security implications did not raise an eyebrow when the customs contracted Web Fontaine, a foreign firm.
“Who told them that the Web Fontaine on the customs platform is not a security risk to the nation,” he said.
