The first test of the strength of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council’s new role as the economic regulator of the nation’s seaports has emerged from Onne port in Rivers state, where the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has violated the Council order on collection of the outlawed practicing fees at the port.
Shipping Position Daily’s investigations revealed that the Onne seaport chapter of ANLCA has refused to honour an earlier directive that was handed down to the given to the association to stop collection of any practicing fees within Onne ports.
The order was given in March after a meeting between the Shippers Council and stakeholders in Onne, where issues bordering on the illegal collection were discussed.
At the meeting, the representative of the Executive Secretary of Shippers’ Council; Mr Moses Fadipe had insisted that the Council was more concerned with how to remove all bottle necks on the way of facilitating trade.The meeting was on the strength of a petition that was written by a body; “Coalition of Freight Forwarding Practitioners of Nigeria (CFFPN) in protest against the presence of multiple task forces and collection of illegal levies at Onne ports.
The group had specifically written last October to the Minister of Transport; Senator Idris Umar to complain against the Onne port chapter of ANLCA, alleging that it was colluding with West African Container Terminal (WACT) Onne to collect some levies .
The Shippers Council’s representatives, who presided over the meeting; Mr Fadipe condemned the practices and said it was wrong for WACT to allow ANLCA to collect N2,000 and N1,000 charges, respectively on all 40ft and 20ft containers that exit WACT Terminal on daily basis.
The representative of the Council’s executive secretary, who was accompanied to the meeting by the zonal coordinator of Eastern zone; Mr Maurice Effanga , and others consequently ruled that the fees being imposed on containers and collected at WACT terminal were illegal and should be stopped forthwith.
Shipping Position Daily’s findings have confirmed that, weeks after the directive was given, ANLCA Onne chapter has refused to comply.
Our correspondent in Port Harcourt, who visited Onne port last week, sighted a document purported to have been written by ANLCA, Onne seaport urging all agents to pay fees to the association’s revenue generation committee at FOT near Tonimas Oil Tank Farm, in clear contravention of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council directive.
The document which emanated from ANLCA, Onne seaport chapter was signed by one Nze Theodore Ejezie as the Chairman ANLCA Onne seaport Revenue Generation Committee. It was dated 8th April, 2014, and titled: “NOTICE TO ALL AGENTS”.
A part of the letter directed to all agents at the Onne Sea Port read: “You are by this notice reminded to pay your ANLCA practicing fee to the team of our Revenue Generation Committee at FOT near TONIMAS Oil Tank Farm and collect your official receipt of payment. Please ensure that you make this payment before taking delivery or at the point of delivery and make available copies of payment to your cargo driver, because the revenue team may not listen to any excuse after notice”.
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