Lagos Port strike may costs Nigeria billions
The strike appeared innocuous enough when it began. But by the time it entered its third day it was estimated that Nigeria had lost close to N4 billion, according to Mr. Peter Anosike, a front-line freight operator. Mr. Anosike, who is a member of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANCLA), was speaking on the strike action embarked upon last week by freight forwarders in the country, saying that the loss consists essentially of the levies that would have been collected by the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), duties that should have been collected by the various commands of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and other such monies.
And as if to lend credence to this claim on the serious financial implication of the strike, the Minister of Transport, Alhaji Ibrahim Isa Bio, had reacted to the development by immediately rushing down to Lagos to meet with the protesting aggrieved agents so that a form of agreement could be worked out to nip the strike in the bud.
In fact, Anosike’s claim was supported by the Chairman of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), Tony Nwabunike, who told Vanguard Metro that the country may have actually lost more than N2 billion for each day of the strike.
Nwabunike pointed that if the amount that would have been collected by the terminal operators as handling charges and shipping companies charges are added, the amount lost would be definitely more than that. A Joint Action Committee made up of the three major group of freight forwarders who addressed journalists in Lagos last week, accused the concessionaires of acting as if they are a law on to themselves in Nigeria without any regard for government.
They also alleged that the concessionaires have not only failed to keep to the terms of agreement with government on the charges to be collected for their operations, they have also shown disrespect for both Ministers of Transport and Finance for their refusal to adhere to the communique issued at the end of a stakeholders’ forum last month in Lagos.
The Joint Action Committee led by the principal officers of the major groups, namely Mr Lucky Amiwero Dr. Boniface Aniebonam and Aree Sanni Shittu, all agreed that port charges have increased by 1000 per cent as a result of these unauthorized charges by terminal operators, a development that has negated the objective of the port reform programme.
The Committee said that the Nigerian economy is now at the mercy of these concessionaires and shipping firms as there is nobody to regulate the activities or operations. They therefore called for a review of the entire port concession exercise as the operators of the privatized terminal have failed to meet the objectives of the programme.
They said that the managements of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) have also failed to resolve the grievances which importers have with both the terminal operators and shipping companies, adding that it is only a policy statement from the Presidency that would call the operators to order.
Amiwero noted that the terminal operators and shipping companies have flagrantly disobeyed the law by not adhering the communique signed by the Ministers of Transport and Finance recently, adding that the concession agreement they signed with government has also been disregarded.
“The strike will continue indefinitely; that is why we need the intervention of the President because the Minister has no power to deal with these people who do not mean well for our economy. If the Minister has no power to deal with them, do you want us to call off the strike and continue with the suffering we are going through?” The first shot on the issue of strike was fired by the Assistant Chairman of the Board of Trustee of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Aare Sanni Shittu, last week Tuesday.
He listed some of the grievances as follows:
* Shipping companies must provide adequate space for discharge as all empty containers must be offloaded from the trucks not later than 24 hours after delivery. *Terminal operators must revise the obnoxious Terminal Handling Charges imposed on importers while the shipping companies should desist from various illegal charges.
* Prompt refunds of container deposits
* Abolition of container deposits by shipping companies in conformity with international practice.
* All containers stemmed to Bonded Terminals must be transferred to their destination within five working days.
* Abolition of double billing for terminal handling charges.
The ANCLA boss called on government to enforce its directive to all un-authorised security agencies to vacate the port immediately. As for the charges slammed on them and their agents for stemming down of containers, the agent pointed out that the terminal operators must abolish it immediately.
He also stressed the need for the issue of scanning of containers to be addressed as soon as possible, while calling for a joint implementation task force to be put in place. He concluded by calling on government to make the access road to and from the ports conducive and motorable to reduce the rampant cases of accidents on the road.
Meanwhile, the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) has called for caution in the on-going face-off between freight forwarders and terminal operators over arbitrary charges.
Describing the withdrawal of services by licensed customs agents in Lagos ports as most unfortunate, the Council’s chairman, Hon. Tony Nwabunike in his immediate reaction to the crisis acknowledged that there had been agitations on the part of licensed customs agents for government to intervene in the matter, but explained that matters that are as technical and complex as fixing of charges and tariffs cannot be decreed, but require painstaking intervention.
“As a Council, we are not unaware of cries by our members for government to intervene, but we are also aware that the Honourable Minister of Transport, Alhaji Ibrahim Isa Bio has already commenced work on how to address all the contending issues that are impeding the free flow of cargo in our ports.”
And as if to lend credence to this claim on the serious financial implication of the strike, the Minister of Transport, Alhaji Ibrahim Isa Bio, had reacted to the development by immediately rushing down to Lagos to meet with the protesting aggrieved agents so that a form of agreement could be worked out to nip the strike in the bud.
In fact, Anosike’s claim was supported by the Chairman of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), Tony Nwabunike, who told Vanguard Metro that the country may have actually lost more than N2 billion for each day of the strike.
Nwabunike pointed that if the amount that would have been collected by the terminal operators as handling charges and shipping companies charges are added, the amount lost would be definitely more than that. A Joint Action Committee made up of the three major group of freight forwarders who addressed journalists in Lagos last week, accused the concessionaires of acting as if they are a law on to themselves in Nigeria without any regard for government.
They also alleged that the concessionaires have not only failed to keep to the terms of agreement with government on the charges to be collected for their operations, they have also shown disrespect for both Ministers of Transport and Finance for their refusal to adhere to the communique issued at the end of a stakeholders’ forum last month in Lagos.
The Joint Action Committee led by the principal officers of the major groups, namely Mr Lucky Amiwero Dr. Boniface Aniebonam and Aree Sanni Shittu, all agreed that port charges have increased by 1000 per cent as a result of these unauthorized charges by terminal operators, a development that has negated the objective of the port reform programme.
The Committee said that the Nigerian economy is now at the mercy of these concessionaires and shipping firms as there is nobody to regulate the activities or operations. They therefore called for a review of the entire port concession exercise as the operators of the privatized terminal have failed to meet the objectives of the programme.
They said that the managements of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) have also failed to resolve the grievances which importers have with both the terminal operators and shipping companies, adding that it is only a policy statement from the Presidency that would call the operators to order.
Amiwero noted that the terminal operators and shipping companies have flagrantly disobeyed the law by not adhering the communique signed by the Ministers of Transport and Finance recently, adding that the concession agreement they signed with government has also been disregarded.
“The strike will continue indefinitely; that is why we need the intervention of the President because the Minister has no power to deal with these people who do not mean well for our economy. If the Minister has no power to deal with them, do you want us to call off the strike and continue with the suffering we are going through?” The first shot on the issue of strike was fired by the Assistant Chairman of the Board of Trustee of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Aare Sanni Shittu, last week Tuesday.
He listed some of the grievances as follows:
* Shipping companies must provide adequate space for discharge as all empty containers must be offloaded from the trucks not later than 24 hours after delivery. *Terminal operators must revise the obnoxious Terminal Handling Charges imposed on importers while the shipping companies should desist from various illegal charges.
* Prompt refunds of container deposits
* Abolition of container deposits by shipping companies in conformity with international practice.
* All containers stemmed to Bonded Terminals must be transferred to their destination within five working days.
* Abolition of double billing for terminal handling charges.
The ANCLA boss called on government to enforce its directive to all un-authorised security agencies to vacate the port immediately. As for the charges slammed on them and their agents for stemming down of containers, the agent pointed out that the terminal operators must abolish it immediately.
He also stressed the need for the issue of scanning of containers to be addressed as soon as possible, while calling for a joint implementation task force to be put in place. He concluded by calling on government to make the access road to and from the ports conducive and motorable to reduce the rampant cases of accidents on the road.
Meanwhile, the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) has called for caution in the on-going face-off between freight forwarders and terminal operators over arbitrary charges.
Describing the withdrawal of services by licensed customs agents in Lagos ports as most unfortunate, the Council’s chairman, Hon. Tony Nwabunike in his immediate reaction to the crisis acknowledged that there had been agitations on the part of licensed customs agents for government to intervene in the matter, but explained that matters that are as technical and complex as fixing of charges and tariffs cannot be decreed, but require painstaking intervention.
“As a Council, we are not unaware of cries by our members for government to intervene, but we are also aware that the Honourable Minister of Transport, Alhaji Ibrahim Isa Bio has already commenced work on how to address all the contending issues that are impeding the free flow of cargo in our ports.”