By Our Correspondent
Nigerian freight forwarders have vowed they would shut down sea port terminals across the country if the Sea Port Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN) members insist on collecting the over 1000 percent new terminal and storage charges they have imposed on cargoes in their terminals without due consultation with the relevant stakeholders.
STOAN is the umbrella body of sea port terminals operators in Nigeria. The Association of Concerned Freight Forwarders and Transporters (ACFF&T) made the threat on Thursday October 12, 2023 while briefing maritime journalists on the raging issue in Lagos. The body of freight forwarders alleged that STOAN has already imposed the arbitrary storage charges on imported goods even when its members knew they do not have enough logistics to handle cargoes in the ports, including trucks to convey containers to the scanning sites. According to ACFF&T, if the Federal Government failed to take action against the abnormal increase, its implementation would affect the price of goods in the local market and also increase inflation in the country. This situation, ACFF&T lamented would increase the hardship that would face Nigerians and deepen further the poverty level in the country.
Speaking on the alleged increments, Ndubisi Uzoegbo, national Vice Chairman of the ACFF&T said, “It is our resolve to address every issue that could pose threats to the operations of freight forwarders. We recall the various unpopular government policies, including the floating of the naira, which have led to the a crisis in our economy. This has resulted in high exchange rates, the devaluation of our currency and consequential effects on the international trade environment in which our members operate. The sudden implementation of these government policies, without considering the ripple effects on the masses, has grave consequences for the importing public and the final consumers.
“It becomes more worrisome when these avoidable developments lead to the loss of investment for the innocent businessmen. Take for instance, when the cost of clearing goods imported into the country through our ports attracts extra cost on duties, shipping company charges, and terminal charges that were not initially budgeted by the consignee. It leads to the abandonment of these goods at the ports as well as other detrimental effects on shippers and freight forwarders”.
The freight forwarders accused STOAN of increasing storage charges from the subsisting N15,000 to over N90,000 and promptly implementing same without consultation. In the communique issued by ACFF&T after its emergency meeting of Thursday, October 5, 2023, the concerned freight forwarders, among other critical issues, specifically called on the Senate Committee on Customs and Excise to encourage the Nigeria Customs Service to adhere to the Form “M” policy guidelines when implementing government fiscal policy by using exchange rates quoted on the Form M before placing order for cargo importation, as clearly stated in the existing guidelines, procedures and import documentation.
The freight forwarders also charged the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Shippers Council to suspend, at least temporarily, “All approvals granted multinational shipping companies and terminal operators for the increase in handling charges, demurrage rent collection and storage charges. This suspension should remain in effect until all issues related to delays in cargo clearance stemming from their inefficiencies are adequately addressed.
“To ensure that connivance by the terminal operators and shipping companies in creating bottlenecks in the cargo documentation processes are eliminated through the deployment of modern ports operations methodology “.
The freight forwarders further called on the Ministers of the Marine and Blue Economy and that of Finance to use their good offices to address all the issues they have raised.
Alleged Bribery Of Journalists
Tentacle gathered reliably that the Media Consultant to STOAN, Mr Bolaji Akinola has allegedly begun to dish out hundreds of thousands of naira to many of the maritime journalists in order to induce them to refuse to publish the STOAN-ACFF&T face off over arbitrary storage charges increase. Credible sources who called on Tentacle alleged that accounts of many reporters covering the maritime business sector have been credited with hundreds of thousands of naira since last weekend. The purpose, our sources alleged, was to dump to the trash any story in their respective media that can damage the image of STOAN.
All efforts to reach Akinola to confirm or deny the allegation could not yield result as his phone lines were switched off at the time of filing this report.
