The National Vice President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, ANLCA, Prince Segun Oduntan has blamed the indiscriminate upward adjustment in charges by government agencies and service providers alike on the disunity among the freight forwarding associations and the inability of the importers represented by the Importers Association of Nigerian, IMAN on one hand and manufacturers represented by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN on the other hand.
Speaking in an interview with Primetime Reporters in Lagos recently, Oduntan observed that as far as the freight forwarding associations were not united, it would always be difficult relating with them both individually and collectively.
Describing that as the major problem that the freight forwarders had, he said, “If ANLCA say I will not agree, this is it, APFFLON will say these people are justified. How much they buy diesel, how much; they are with you. The National Council will say let them do it a bit but not beyond this.
“When there’s no unity, that is the major setback about this development. They have found a hole within us where they can put their heads because when you say somebody with a hunchback carries a load and you say to this man that your load is bent, you are just looking at the load you are not looking at the man who carry it, that the man has some challenges.”
He recalled that when the issue of the 4 percent FOB levy came up, he was the first to speak up and condemned it arguing that although the 4 percent FOB levy was captured in the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023, the implementation was not properly done.
According to him, “You don’t just wake and adjust charges. You must test the people’s pulse. Is it the right environment? Is it the right time? I just told you what CMA CGM did at Lekki port, just woke up one morning and adjusted service charge without consultation and nobody is talking about it. It doesn’t happen because we are the ones paying and the major problem is this, the Importers’ Association is there, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria is there but they are not talking.
“If you hold the bill of lading now, our role there is minimal. Do you know why the 4 percent was immediately cancelled? It’s because the Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria came out, they are the ones that bear the burden. So, when people talk, you should know your limits. I will fight for you but if you are not ready to stand by me, by the time we are fighting, you will be asking me, Segun why are you fighting.
“What is our job? We are in-between, so, if the person who is ready to pay the money is not talking, if I take the invoice from the shipping company, I give it to my importer, he will pay it. If I collect from the terminal, I give it to him, he pays. They are reading all that is happening and they are saying nothing. And they have leadership.
“So, the era of thuggery in this profession is over. This is a professional association, we have to address things professionally. If things are going wrong, you have to do proper engagement and get it right. But the bottom line in the issue we are having is within our own profession, unity is not there, we are not speaking with one voice and when an issue comes up like this, if we are backed by the people who give us the jobs, we will be encouraged to go on.”
He maintained that the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, as a regulator was in a better position to summon a meeting between the stakeholders and the service providers to look into this trend of increment with a view to resolving them especially now that their bill was receiving attention at the National Assembly.
“They (Shippers’ Council) are to be up and doing so that the government will know that they are on top of this game and they can represent both sides and represent well. I will always make that reference, even if you go to Ghana here, these shipping and terminal companies, they have stakeholders’ forum who would have dialogue, you cannot do any increment without consultation but here we are, until we say that we are going to shut down the port, until we say we want to do some things that will affect the economy, that is when they will be calling and say let us do it this way.
“Let me tell you, CMA has already, in Lekki port, arbitrarily increased their charges. They just wrote a letter that they were going to increase and they have done it. They just notified us within a few days and they went ahead and implemented it. It doesn’t happen anywhere”, he said.
He, however, informed that stakeholders were already meeting to take a position on all these quests to adjust service charge by both the government agencies and the service providers adding that in no distant time, they will make their position known to the public.
His words, “We are meeting and we are studying the situation and very soon, we will come out with a strong position.”
Photo: Prince Segun Oduntan, National Vice President, ANLCA.
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