The Association of Professional Freight Forwarding and Logistics of Nigeria, has faulted the management of the Ports & Terminal Multipurpose Limited over the proposed increment in freight charges.
The National President of APFFLON, Frank Ogunojemite, said this in a chat with Financial Street in Lagos.
He said that APFFLON, as an advocacy group, cannot be part of any arrangement that would add more pains on freight forwarders.
Ogunojemite condemned the increment and any similar action being planned by either shipping companies or terminal operators.
He accused the Managing Director of PTML, Mr. Ascanio Russo, of conspiring with other terminal operators to carry out what he described as a wicked ploy to inflict more hardship on the citizenry via arbitrary charges that could result in job loss and capital flight.
“APFFLON cannot be part of any ploy to further impoverish the citizenry and we will always kick against attempts targeted at inflicting more economic pains on clearing agents.
“They are presently going through a lot, from bad state of ports corridors to arbitrary charges, high-handedness amongst others. What we should be expecting is improved working condition and modernised working environment, not arbitrary charges and random extortion,” he stressed.
Ogunojemite, nevertheless, said that 20 per cent increment would have been better instead of the proposed 50 per cent.
He also condemned the justification of the increment by those who attended the meeting for the singular reason that the company had not come up with any increment for a long time.
The APFFLON boss warned shipping companies and terminal operators against continuous extortion of freight forwarders through arbitrary charges and avoidable bottleneck, which he said they create out of greed.
Meanwhile, Ogunojemite said that the group has petitioned the Nigerian Shippers Council on the high-handedness of shipping companies.
The group, he said, charged the NSC to boldly take up its responsibility as the ports economic regulator and rescue importers and freight forwarders from the wicked claws of economic saboteurs.
