- JCOST describes Truck stickers levy as illegal
- As CBN releases list of items valid for forex
The ports debilitating 3-day strike by critical stakeholders to protest dilapidated road infrastructure around the ports finally ended yesterday, with the embattled groups saying it was in deference to pleas by the government and other well-meaning Nigerians.
Mr. Hassan Bello, NSC Boss
They however warned that they might be forced to down tools again, if the Government reneges on its assurances to urgently address the issue.
“As patriotic Nigerians, the Associations agreed that the economy should not be unduly further distressed. The Associations used the occasion to commend the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), Barr. Hassan Bello and the Managing Director of the Nigeria Ports Authority, Hajia Hadiza Bala Usman for their efforts at re-positioning the total logistics supply chain”, the joint statement highlighted, offering Government another 21-day ultimatum to rectify all the issues in contention so as to avert another round of withdrawal of service.
It would be recalled that about seven entities embarked on peaceful withdrawal of their services, and tactfully brought the economy of the sector to its knees.
The associations included the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Corporate Fleet NARTO, Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMARTO), National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and the COTAN Frozen Goods and Commodities.
Prince Olayiwola Shittu, ANLCA Boss
Meanwhile, as efforts continued towards full restoration of services at the ports, unfolding indication is to the effect that a body of truck owners under the auspices of Joint Council of Seaport Truckers (JCOST) has sued the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) over what they described as ‘extortion’ by officials of the agencies. Their grievances was not unconnected to the sticker permit on truck standardisation issued by NPA to every truck accessing the ports at N10,000 each, which the JCOST suit insists is illegal.
Chairman of JCOST, Alhaji Kayode Odunowo, while addressing maritime journalists on Tuesday, alleged that too many levies were being paid by truckers to government agencies, which in turn have made their businesses unprofitable.
“Any moment from now we will be in court with the NPA over the issue of sticker permit and other obnoxious levies and fines by FRSC”, Odunowo indicated, stressing that the case has already been filed with the Federal High Court and would come up for mentioning soon.
According to him, the regulatory agencies have contributed negatively to haulage operations, stressing the need for government to reduce the number of agencies on the roads.
The truck owners, however, stated that apart from the Nigeria Airforce every other arm of the military and paramilitary agencies of government, including the Nigeria Navy, Army, Police, etc have been allegedly extorting money from transporters operating within the seaports
Odunowo who was accompanied by the secretary general of the council, Chief Godwin Ikeji, called on the government to create an enabling environment both for government agencies deployed on the highways and truck operators.
Speaking on some of the challenges faced by transporters operating within the ports corridors, the truck owners noted that it takes five days for a truck to access the seaport in Lagos, pointing out that the roads linking the ports are in deplorable condition.
On the suspended strike action by transporters and freight agents across the country, the council chairman lamented that the body was not carried along and the organisers did not adequately mobilise all the stakeholders.
Odunowo conceded that the initiative and motivation for the action were commendable but that JCOST was not involved. However, he said his organisation is not against the strike, noting that the “council had been involved in the issue of the poor port access roads which prompted a shortlived withdrawal of service sometimes last year and we spend more than N4 million to fill some of the bad spots on Apapa road that year.
“We are not part of the strike but we are interested in what brought about the strike. We have documents to show that we have written to the government concerning the bad condition of the ports access roads,” he said.
Odunowo however appealed to the government to expedite action in fixing the roads, saying it would help to forestall incessant cases of falling of trucks along the roads as well as help to cushion the effect on the trucks.
“We want government to repair the ports access roads, we have been calling on the government to try their best as our trucks with containers are falling down every day, leading to loss of business for the truck owners and severe damage to goods in the the containers too.
“If the roads are in good condition, it will be easy for the trucks to move goods faster and do about three trips in a day”, he added.
In the meantime, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday released a list of items that can source foreign exchange (forex) from the market.
The list, sent to all authorised dealers, Nigeria Customs and the public, has 36 categories. It is endorsed by Director, Trade and Exchange, W.D Gotring.
He said the list became exigent following misconceptions and enquiries across market on items that are “Valid for Foreign Exchange”.
The items that made the list include animal or vegetable fats and oils fractions, hydrogenated- not including palm oil/ olein and margarine; prepared glues and adhesive based polymers of headings 39.01 to 39.13 or on rubber; other plates, sheets, film, foil, and strip of polymers of ethylene printed- only for pharmaceutical and manufacturing.
Others are bobbins, spools, cops and similar supports of paper or paperboard used for winding textile yarn; uncoated kraft paper and board, in rolls, uncoated kraft paper and board, in rolls, paper coated with kaolin (China clay), synthetic filament, artificial filament, woven fabrics of synthetic filament yarn, including woven fabrics obtained from material polypropylene fabrics, of the type used as carpet backing.
The list also includes glass in balls, rods or tubes, unworked, float glass, coloured throughout the mass opacified, flashed or merely surface ground only for pharmaceutical manufacturing, non-domestic heating/cooling equipment, non-electric water heaters among others.
The CBN had earlier dismissed the speculation that it reversed ban on importers of 41 items from accessing foreign exchange through the forex window. The CBN said the 41 items will not be able to access forex.
Additional report from Nation
