Freight Forwarders Group; CREFFPON Calls for Suspension of Ease of Doing Business At Nigerian Ports

By DAPO OLAWUNI

The Congregation of Registered Freight Forwarding Practitioners of Nigeria (CREFFPON) has called on the Federal Government to suspend its Ease of Doing Business order at Nigerian ports because the order has failed completely and it is making mockery of Nigeria on the international scene.

In a statement dated 5th February, 2021 signed by Fwdr Edwin C, the group argued that the Presidential Ease of Doing Business at Nigerian ports should not be about global rating alone, but that it should tackle realities on ground.
The group also lamented that port competitiveness and cost of doing business at the port has skyrocketed far above comparable continental port industry average with regards to the cargo handling and clearance costs

“Therefore, since this note initiative has failed to achieve its objectives in the port system, it should be either restructured or proscribed”

CREFFPON also stressed the need for diversification and decentralization of shipping operatons to the Eastern Port. It stated that this is very important, considering the congested, choked and saturated western ports operatons with it’s rapid dilapidating and decaying ports and road infrastructures.

The alleged that most of the government agencies and committees in the maritime sector are more driven by revenue interests, and not really solution driven to cushion the suffering and extortions of stakeholders.

Some of the challenges highlighted by the group included “The divided and uncoordinated interests of the Nigerian police and their incessant interferences in cargo Clearance and interception along cargo delivery routes. Too many unholy check points in the port system”

“The unregulated extortive, subjective and intimidative tendercies of the terminal operators and shipping lines. Theirs is a classical extortions redefined”

“The endless checkpoints as instituted by the Nigeria Customs Service via varies of units, squads and taskforces, with their operatonal highhandedness and frivolous demand notices and the un-streamlined, incessant alert issuance, etc, ”

“The overlapping functions, revenue driven interests and inherent administrative extortions of the products regulatory agencies and the recruitment of camp boys at will, is another extortions points”

“The administrative inefficiency on the part of the Council For The Regulation of Freight Forwarding Practice in Nigeria (CRFFN), hence, it woefully failed to institute professionalism in the freight forwarding subsector of the maritime economy hence, the absent of professional scale of charges in the freight forwarding Profession. Promoting non competitiveness in the system”

“The helplessness posture of the Nigeria Shippers Council in its economic regulatory efforts snowballs to a pathetic story as the council is overwhelmed and tagged a toothless bulldog by the port uses.

“It’s present roles in the industry requires urgent regulatory legislative empowerment so as to rejig and stabilizes the economic wellbeing of all industry stratas and the nation economy. Else, a mere presidential pronouncement can not guarantee a regulatory sanctions on a defaulting stakeholders, like witnessed in its celebrated case with the Terminal Operators and Shipping Lines”

“Government, must exhibit purposeful governance by transmuting the Shippers Council via legislative processes as the nation maritime economic regulator once and for all. This industry gambling with an industry economic regulator should be addressed once and for all”

“We urge the federal government to widening and focus its searchlight on the port Industry. Equally , it should consider the need to evolve a new shipping policy to cushion this thriving acts of extortions” the statement read.