Lilypond Stakeholders Meet After Years of Inactivity
Freight forwarders operating at Lilypond Customs Command held an inaugural meeting on Thursday, 8th August, 2024 after over five years of business inactivity due to the scrapping of the terminal as a Customs command.
As Nigeria Customs Service designated the terminal as an export command about two years ago and business started booming, the Customs brokers met at the terminal to discuss areas of common interests and how to support the policy of the Federal Government to boost and encourage exports to the benefit of all and sundry.
Addressing the gathering of the freight forwardersr at the welcome back meeting, a prominent leader in the command, Hon. Prince Segun Adefioye commended them for weathering the storm during the period the terminal was scrapped as a Customs command and thanked God that the terminal has come back alive as an export command.
Adefioye, a licensed Customs agent and Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of Olu Corporate Products Services Limited charged the freight forwarders to take advantage of the booming export business at the command.
He noted that the comeback meeting was called to assemble resident freight forwarders at the command in order to forge ahead and work as a team for the success of all.
Adefioye stressed that now that export is booming freight forwarders should come forward as a team to be able to get necessary assistance.
He averred that coming together as a team will ensure that things are done perfectly.
Alluding to his call for a team work, he said that coming together will make it easier to resolve issues that may arise with the Customs or the concessionaire.
He said that the challenge of double examination of exports at Lilypond and then at Apapa or Tin Can Island ports has been resolved after a stakeholders' meeting where they were assured that it won't happen again.
According to Adefioye, it has now been agreed that once examination is performed and documentation completed at Lilypond command, there would be no need for any other examination again.
The CEO of Olu Corporate Products Services maintained that forging a common front will afford the agents the opportunity to put heads together to resolve other challenges that may come up and ensure that business flows seamlessly.
He said that the terminal is better as an export command and will not support it handling imports in the near future.
Adefioye pointed out that it is more lucrative to go into forwarding exports than clearing imports.
"We want to support exports even as the Federal Government's policy is centered on boosting and encouraging exports to balance international trade", he disclosed.
In his own speech, the Chairman, Odua Maritime Lilypond, Mr. Femi Agbaje, noted that as Lilypond terminal is now an export command, resident agents in the command needed to be organized as a team to be solving one another's problems.
Saying that the export command took off two years ago, he enjoined the resident agents to support government's efforts to encourage and boost exports by working hard.
The Odua Chairman stated that the terminal is doing well as an export command but added that imports can be added to the terminal as there are enough space for handling both.
In his contribution, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Bead & Accord International Limited, Deacon Abraham Olutoyin Ajayi, advised that the command should continue to handle only exports as the Federal Government is encouraging exports as a veritable source of foreign exchange earning.
He argued that the command was not performing well as an import command, adding that it is now booming with its status as an export command.
Ajayi, a certified trainer on how to export goods overseas advised freigh forwarders operating in the command to be diligent, focussed, honest and be obedient to the lawful authority.
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