The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders has advocated the return of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria to the seaports.
The Founder of NAGAFF, Dr Boniface Aniebonam, disclosed this to newsmen in Lagos on Wednesday.
Aniebonam explained that the SON’s presence at the ports would make the job of cargo delivery more seamless.
“SON is not clamouring to come back to the ports. We the freight forwarders, are the ones requesting they come back to the ports so that our job of cargo delivery to the owners would not be obstructed,” he explained.
He lamented the numerous bottlenecks imposed on freight forwarders by different government agencies at the ports.
“We are not comfortable anymore because of the inherent hardship we undergo under the enforcement units of different government agencies found on the city roads. We lose money daily.
“SON is an agency of the government; and government has already given a directive under the executive order that the agency should operate from outside the ports. But what we are saying is that the arrangement is not in favour of free flow of trade, because the enforcement unit of SON are still found on the roads, causing obstruction,” Aniebonam stated.
Commenting on the embattled Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Ms Hadiza Bala-Usman, he expressed disapproval and wondered why she was removed.
