APFFLON reorganizes Tincan Island chapter leadership, appoints Ayobiojo as Chairman

…Laments effects of strike action on shipping, aviation sectors

The Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria, APFFLON, today undertakes the reorganization of its Tincan Island Port chapter leadership in an attempt to reposition the association for better results.

The reorganization saw the pioneer Chairman of the association in the chapter, Mr. Emeka Godfrey Nwosu redeployed to the National Headquarters of the association as the new Business and Commerce Development Officer while Alhaji Akeem Ayobiojo was appointed the new Chairman of the Tincan Island Port chapter of the association.

Other appointed executive of the association are: Mr. Jubril Usman as Vice Chairman, Tincan, Fwdr. Rasheed Tijani as Secretary, Tincan and Mrs. Busayo Okpara as Welfare Officer for the national secretariat.

Speaking in a press briefing preceding the reorganization, the President of APFFLON, Otunba Frank Ogunojemite decried the huge losses incurred by both freight forwarders and their importers as demurrage and storage charges as a result of industrial action by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC and the Trade Union Congress, TUC.

Ogunojemite who argued that strike actions usually cripple activities at seaport, airports and land border stations, further observed that freight forwarders and their importers were usually subjected to paying the storage charges and demurrage which accrued during the strike.

He maintained that APFFLON was not ignorant of the excruciating pains and hardships the fuel subsidy removal had brought upon Nigerians saying, “we also know the negative sides of shutting down the nation’s economy, that is the reason why the leaderships of the labour unions should reconsider their stance and suspend the strike in the interest of the nation.”

While insisting that the industrial action could worsen the present economic realities as individual businesses would be grounded, he pointed out that “people are passing through very tough times, we would want the labour unions to give Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration benefit of the doubt and watch if it would not expedite actions towards ameliorating the sufferings of Nigerians.

“We want to see actions marched with words, obviously, Nigerians have lost confidence in their leaders because of their insincerity, greed and sheer lack of willpower to do the right things.”

The National President who stressed that in the maritime and aviation sectors, delays in clearance of cargoes attract penalties in form of demurrage, argued that the NLC hasn’t been able to proffer any assistance or consider this impediment.

Noting that the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC had never invited freight forwarders to understand some of the challenges that they face at the ports on a daily basis, Ogunojemite, however, wondered why the decisions of NLC should affect all the sectors of the economy.

“APFFLON would want to remind them of the need to always engage other sectors before taking decisions that affect all and sundry.

“The skyrocketing prices of commodities and continuous emasculation of Small and Medium Enterprises, SMEs is a big threat to the livelihoods of many families . But if we should look into who and who are affected by the strike action by Labour, it will not be out of place to point out that those who are not in the employ of governments are co-opted to join the strike”, he said.

He, however, commended the leadership of Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, MWUN for approaching the industrial action from a different perspective without disrupting activities at the seaport in the recent protest embarked upon by members of NLC and the TUC.

Photo: L-R: National President of Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria, APFFLON, Otunba Frank Ogunojemite, congratulates the newly appointed APFFLON Chairman at Tin Can Island Port chapter, Alhaji Akeem Ayobiojo.

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