SOME importers have expressed fears over the just concluded port concession review by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), stating that the additional responsibilities placed on terminal operators must not affect port charges.
Recall that the NPA, while recently stating that the port concession review has been concluded, revealed that the new agreement would see terminal operators more responsible for maintenance of quays, fenders and allied matters such as port illumination.
Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune on the expected changes, an importer, Pascal Abunume, explained that most times, in Nigeria, when agreement that involves money changes, it is always the common man on the street that bears the brunt of such changes.
According to Pascal Abunume, “I read in the news that the NPA has concluded the concession review agreement and that the terminal operators will bear more responsibilities going forward. The new responsibilities will see the terminal operators spending more money in areas that they never handled or cared for before.
“In Nigeria, when things like this happen, it is common for the affected party to shift the burden to the common man. I just hope that this new agreement won’t bring about the terminal operators adjusting their charges? It is important that the common man is not allowed to bear the brunt of these new changes, if approved by the Federal Government.
“The cost of clearing cargoes at Nigerian ports is already on the high side. The economy is harsh on the common man. The operators at the port should not just think about adjusting port charges at this time. Any move like that will be resisted in its entirety.”
Also speaking, a clearing agent who clears cargoes at the port, Yemi Showunmi, said that if the terminal operators tried such, the various freight forwarding associations would protest against it.
Showunmi said, “The terminal operators should not just talk about any changes in cargo clearance charges at this time.
“Even if they have to pay more with this new concession agreement, it shouldn’t be shifted to the importers because the economy is so harsh right now. Go to the ports and see the number of cargoes littering the port terminals. Many cargoes have been abandoned not because the owners don’t know they have arrived, but because the owners don’t have the money to clear them.
“Any talk of changes in cargo clearance charges right now over any changes in port concession review will be resisted by the various freight forwarding associations. I am a member of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) and I know that my association will resist such a move if it ever happens.”
