A United States of America (USA) -bound passenger yesterday at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos forced officials of Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Services (NAQS) to change their mode of operations in the airport by insisting that passengers should be receipted for money paid.
With her agitation to have receipt and certificate to cover the money collected from her by the operatives of the NAQS, and intervention of officials of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the quarantine officials had no choice than to change from the old practice whereby they kept intending passengers waiting for hours before they got their luggage manually screened, paid for certification before they were issued a certificate and receipt from the sixth floor of the airport.
The passenger, Mrs. Margaret Bolurin was travelling out of Nigeria to the USA with some kilogrammes of grounded Pepper, Mellon and dried bitter leaves which the NAQS officials insisted she must pay and get certification for to avoid being trashed at American airport.
Bolurin however insisted that she must be receipted for the sum of Two Thousand Five Hundred Naira only (N2,500) paid to an official quarantine to get her food items certified even as she claimed that she was not bordered about the amount paid but the delay suffered as the officials kept her waiting before issuing the receipt.
The passenger who was full of praises to the Acting President Prof Yemi Osinbajo for signing and directing implementation of the Executive Order for the ‘Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria’ said: “ the Executive Order recently issued, by the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo is to also assist in the seamless passengers facilitation in our airports and to bring us to global standard .
“But this set of people who claimed they are quarantine officials is poised to truncate or sabotage it for personal selfish reasons. If not, why are they keeping their receipts and the certificates on the sixth floor while they screen and collect money from passengers on the first floor? Where is the seamless facilitation here? I have checked in almost 50 minutes ago and I have been kept here waiting for a receipt and certificate. I want somebody to explain to me why I should not collect the receipt for the money paid after wasted almost an hour here,” she lamented.
It however took the intervention of the West Regional Manager of FAAN Mr. Odugbemi to hasten NAQS officials issuance of the receipt and the certificate.
Speaking with African Business Travel News (ABTN) shortly after collecting her receipt and certificate, the US- based Ekiti woman also commended the management of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) for full implementation of the Executive Order.
She said the implementation has brought sanity to the nation’s busiest airport. She however urged the management of FAAN to ensure continuity of the order.
“I must commend the management of this airport for full implementation of this Presidential Order in the airport. It shows Nigeria has people who can do us proud. I had used this airport several times. I knew what the situation was. But I am proud to be a Nigerian with what I am seeing here today. All the processes that gave room to extortion and other vices in the airport have been removed except this quarantine people,” she said.
The NAQS has since agreed to bring personnel who will operate computers to process the certificates and issue receipts to departure hall for efficiency.
