FG may lose N57bn weekly as Agents’, NPA face-off threatens to shut ports

Reports suggest that the federal government may lose N57.4 billion weekly if the ongoing faceoff between clearing agents and the Nigerian Ports Authorities (NPA) leads to a shut down of the ports.

An unresolved face off between the NPA on one side, and the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) and the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) on the other side is threatening to shut down activities at the nation’s ports.

The act, unless averted may see the Federal Government, through its agencies, losing about N57.4 billion revenue weekly.

Some of agencies to suffer the losses are, the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and Nigerian Customs Service.

Since September 2016, peace has not fully returned to the ports sector as a result of allegations by the clearing agents of high handedness by NPA and Customs.

This is in addition to a series of industrial disputes over non payment of NPA retirees.

But in separate press statements, the associations said they had already issued a 21-day notice to the government and the general public that to move their cargoes out of the ports before the stipulated time because they will be withdrawing their services after.

They cited cases of arbitrary hike of charges by 35 per cent since 2016 by the agencies, including shipping companies’ agents, Nigerian Police Force and other government agencies at the ports as part of reasons for their planned action.

The associations alleged that there is a deliberate policy to make goods clearing difficult in Nigeria.

The clearing agents had followed the issuance of the ultimatum to the Federal Government by plans to send a delegation to the Minister of Transportation, Chief Rotimi Chibike Amaechi, seeking his intervention in resolving the issue.

“We have no option than to shut down activities at the seaports, nationwide, until our demands are met.

“We are acting under the aegis of ANLCA and NAGAFF, as the main agents operating because most of our clients are forced to abandon their cargoes at the ports due to high charges,” ANLCA Secretary Kayode Farinto, said.

It was learnt that the management of NPA and the various shipping companies have been uneasy since last week when the letters containing the threat from the agencies were received.

But a spokesman for the NPA, Alabi Odeyemi said efforts are being put in place towards resolving the issues raised by the associations.

Blaming the said hike on charges on the unstable naira exchange rate, he said: “With the naira regaining its strength, the hope of renegotiating some of the issues is there.”

Still, a statement by the NAGAF acting president, Mr Increase Uche, called on the government to send a special team to the ports to have clearer picture of the level of corruption being perpetrated by most of the government agencies.

Uche stated: “The Nigeria customs service issues the Pre -Arrival Assessment Reports (PAAR), undertakes the assessment and subsequently release of cargoes from the ports with multiplicity of units in the clearance chain which are unnecessarily encumbered by incessant alerts and arbitrary jack-up of customs duties .

“This cannot be said to be in compliance with the international valuation principles (Which is General Agreement on Tariff and Trade-Article V11, GATT) as domesticated into valuation Acts and then constitute units that intercept the same duly exited cargoes within 500 meters radius of the ports.

“There are other abuse of the system, which we can no longer allow to go unchallenged, hence our resolve to withdraw our services any moment from now”, he lamented.

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