The recurring failure of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) servers handled by its service provider, Messers Webb Fontaine, has come under criticism as port users lament about N50 million losses to weekly demurrage payments.

The Guardian found that whenever the epileptic server failure occurs, it takes about one to three weeks before the network is restored, leaving vessels stranded at the nation’s seaports with cargoes accruing demurrages running into billions of naira.

This, according to port users, has negated the Federal Government’s policy on the ease of doing business at the nation’s seaports.

The National Public Relations Officer of the Association of Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (AREFFN), Taiwo Fatomilola, lamented that the server failures mostly occur whenever vessels arrive with cargoes, causing both customs and the cargo owners to suffer losses.

“The problem is that during the arrival of a ship that is when the network will go, whenever there is no ship, the network will be stable. I don’t understand if it is done deliberately to make money from people. We experience server glitches for up to two weeks,” he groaned.

Fatomilola explained that Tin Can Island ports are peculiar with these server glitches a lot, adding that the Customs command claims to generate N7.5 million weekly, which is halted whenever there is a server failure.

During the last server failure that occurred earlier in February 2024, Fatomilola explained that a vessel brought 1,300 vehicles comprising trucks, cars and buses at one of the terminals at Tin Can Island port.

He said the owners of the vehicles were made to pay an average of N15,000 on a truck per day as demurrage, while a car paid almost N10,000 per day.

Fatomilola said on average the owners spent about N50 million per week on demurrage on the vehicles, as they were given three days off.

The National President of the Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON), Frank Ogunojemite, said the attitude of the Ministry of Finance towards redeeming the economic situation has increasingly proven to be lukewarm.

He berated the ministry for upholding a contractual agreement with Web Fontaine, saying the outfit has only succeeded in making ‘nonsense’ of the Federal Government policy on Ease of Doing Business (EoDB).

According to Ogunojemite, until the Ministry of Finance resolves to get essential service providers to commit to compensation agreements or have their contracts revoked, the IT firm will continue to take Nigerians for granted.

He noted that if nothing is done to keep them on their toes and also address the challenges, the essence of the Federal Government’s policy on ease of doing business will never be actualised.

The National Vice President, the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Segun Oduntan, sent a Save-Our-Soul message to President Bola Tinubu over unease of doing business at Nigerian ports, occasioned by the epileptic nature of the servers.

He lamented that the recurring failure of the server is causing the payment of huge demurrages by importers and their clearing agents.

Oduntan called on the President to intervene in the plight of port users by instructing the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, to tackle the challenges head-on.

Oduntan urged the Federal Government to set up a committee to investigate what is causing the delays and epileptic Customs portal.

He said the government should bring in Information Technology (IT) experts and resource persons to investigate this issue as a matter of urgency.