By Samson Echenim

FREIGHT forwarders and clearing agents operating at Apapa Port yesterday staged a protest at the port against alleged deliberate delay of containers, constant system break down and corporate extortion by the terminal.

The freight forwarders and licensed customs clearing agents drawn from their various associations were led by the chairman of Apapa Port chapter of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, NAGAFF,  Ndubuisi Uzoegbo.

Sea port

The port users defiled attempt by the Commissioner of Police, Nigerian Ports Authority, Western Ports, Uba Muhammad Kura to stop them and marched to the office of APM Terminal Apapa, where they protested against myriads of malpractices allegedly being perpetrated by the terminal and its sister shipping line, Maersk Line.

Uzoegbo, who spoke for the freight forwarders and clearing agents said: “APMT with obvious conspiracy with her fellow multinational agents, the shipping companies through  their deliberate delays, have continued to extort exorbitant charges as demurrage on containers.

“This is made possible only  through their self-designed deliberate internet network system breakdown, perpetual denial of access into the ports and most times, APMT places all containers’delivery on hold for some flimsy excuses because they have limited holding bay.

“Hence, the terminal and shipping companies make us to pay heavily for their lack of adequate logistic which is nothing but gross injustice against us.”

Earlier, Uzoegbo circulated a letter from the port users to the National Assembly in which he stated: “We use this medium to call  the attention of the Federal government of Nigeria, the National Assembly, the civil societies, relevant stakeholders in the maritime industry, as well as the general public on the pains we suffer as freight forwarders through our work engagements with shipping companies and APM terminal operators. APMT is not worth to be called a terminal as it lacks state of the art facilities and have no standard holding bay with inadequate logistics which causes  freight forwarders to bear the cost.

“This, we must also mention has gross consequence on market prices of goods and it  affects the Nigerian economy at large as the foreign parasites who owns the shipping companies and the APMT milk us with disdain, since they have nothing to lose.

“We pay for the use of the terminals and the shipping companies, yet, they see us as sub-human.  We will no longer take this again. This is the time to end this great injustice against us. We make bold to say that we cannot continue to be slave in our own country under these neo-imperialistic agents.

“We also use this medium to call the attention of the Nigerian ports Authority to look into the risks that our  fellow freight forwarders bear in moving to and fro of the ports in the odd hours,since the terminals operate for 24hrs, because most times we have reported cases of fellow freight forwarders who were attacked by hoodlums while they move to and fro of the ports in the odd hours.

For this we request the ports authority to provide for us a cargo village just like FAAN has done in the Muritala Muhammed international airports, as this would ease our operations and work progress in the ports.

Similar to the above is the need for designated offices to association of freight forwarders where we can easily monitor operations as it affects our members and get feedbacks reports to both the government and the general public.”