Freight Forwarders and truck owners protest injustices in ports

Tayo Afolabi |

Freight Forwarders and truck owners again took to the port access roads to show their grievances Wednesday over what they described as injustices meted out to them by shipping companies and terminal operators.

The aggrieved operators maintained that the duo of Shipping Companies and terminal operators thrive on illegal charges on freight Forwarders and importers.

According to them, the two operators charge importers and agents for not returning empty containers to the port on time whereas, there is no provision for where to drop the containers.

The protesters accused the Nigerian Shippers’ Council of not living up to its responsibility of curtailing anomalies of the operators.

Leading the peaceful protest, Ndubuisi Uzoegbo, Chairman, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Apapa chapter told our correspondent that the issue has lingered for too long and without help in sight.

He added that freight Forwarders are made to pay for days they the terminal operators’ equipment fail to work and when they have server breakdown.

“It is an issue that has to do with freight Forwarders in Nigeria, importers and trucker and all stakeholders in maritime business.

“This issue has been lingering over the years and nobody is doing anything about it. It happened last year and it is repeating again this year. The terminal operators and shipping companies are taking us for granted.

“If you go to them they will say they don’t know freight Forwarders and I don’t know anywhere in the world where freight Forwarders are not recognised.

“Everywhere in Lagos, containers are on trucks, they are using the trucks as their mobile hold bay and nowhere to drop these containers and we freight Forwarders have nowhere in the port to check our Blood pressure.

“They have no facilities to work with, they will work for two hours and switch off for five hours and our account will be reading. Demurrage will be reading even when they have system breakdown. They will not work for two days and we are paying.

“These are the things we want government to come to our aid and do something. Enough of all the injustices.

Comrade Idemili Jones chairman Association of Registered Freight Forwarders in Nigeria (AREFFN), Apapa chapter pointed accusing finger at AP Moller Terminal, saying it failed to provide enabling environment for business to thrive.

In his words, “When it comes to APMT operations, people are suffering, people are dying due to failure of the management to provide enabling environment for the business to thrive.

“If you enter the port now you will see a lot of problems because of their inability to provide equipment.

“The problem we are having is that they don’t even know that we are suffering. If you come outside here and go to shipping companies, same thing. Demurrage is accumulating and they are collecting it because they are making illegal profit.

Speaking further, Jones said the Nigerian Shippers’ Council has failed in its responsibility to curtail the excesses of the operators.

“And Shippers’ Council which is supposed to be controlling the activities of these agencies are not doing anything.

“So, we are clamouring for government to delve into it and find a way to control these agencies because they are milking Nigerians.

Adding his voice, the Apapa chapter chairman of Association of Maritime Truck Owners, Onyeka Enebeli, accused shipping companies of converting their trucks to mobile holding bay even as he said it had led to littering the streets of Lagos with trucks.

“The environment is no longer anything to write home about. The Shipping Companies have turned our trucks to bays. All over Lagos is floated with empty containers

“We have several meetings with shipping companies and they promised to provide holding bays where all the empty containers will be taken to but what I saw when I went round is nothing to write home about.

“All the so-called holding bays are filled up, we are no longer enjoying the industry that is why we withdrew our services for now,” he stated.