Freight Forwarder Chides Maritime Stakeholders over Revenue Collection

Chinazor Megbolu

A foremost maritime industry player, Mr. Segun Musa has chided the stakeholders in the maritime sector over alleged illegal revenue collection by the Lagos State Government.

Musa, a chieftain of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), in a chat on Saturday, said the stakeholders need not score the Lagos State government low on non utilisation of revenues collected to develop the ports infrastructure as promised from inception but instead, blame themselves for being used.

He explained that Lagos State government would not have gotten access to the illegal collection if not for the selfishness of stakeholders in the sector, who compromised.

“Lagos State government would not have gotten access to the illegal collection if not for selfish stakeholders in the maritime sector that compromised their integrity for a token.

“It is on record how I stopped Lagos state government from collecting same at the Murtala Mohammed International airport when they made similar efforts. Despite being a Lagosian, I would rather support a responsive and responsible government ready to task brain positively and generate revenue for development thank to support any regime living in the stone age by taxing people to generate revenues to be shared.

Very soon, I would challenge the Lagos State government to justify trillions of revenues collected so far from Apapa axis because this illegal collection must stop.

“The Lagos state during the tenure of Babatunde Raji Fashola in connivance with some critical stakeholders extended the state revenue drive to the aviation and maritime corridors with sweet promises of using same collections for maintenance of the access roads.

“Interestingly, they were unable to convince me as the leader at the aviation sector then on how the collections would be judiciously used and I stopped the collections with the support of the Airport Commissioner of Police, Airport Commandant and the Director of Directorate of Security Service (DSS) then,” Musa said.

Musa, however, buttressed that when Lagos State could not get headway at the aviation sector, they headed to the seaports.

According to Musa; “unfortunately, they approached the Seaports after meeting a brick wall at the Airport and without any questioning or serious deliberation, most of the stakeholders at the Seaports accepted it hook line and sinker just because of sweet promises from the government then, which we rejected at the Airport. “Now going forward, Lagos state has generated over #2 trillion since the commencement without having anything to show for it.

“The challenge now is; since the federal government has decided to take back the repairs and maintenance of the corridors, what is the justifications for the continuous collection of such illegal revenue?

“I would work with the few responsible and responsive stakeholders in the maritime industry to call attention of the federal government to see the reasons why doing business in Nigeria is getting more expensive and discouraging genuine investors coming into the country especially the maritime industry and possibly go to court to challenge same”.