STRIKE:Shipping companies shun minister’s peace meeting

Freight forwarders extend ultimatum

By Godfrey Bivbere

Foreign shipping companies operating in the country have shunned a peace meeting called by the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, following freight forwarders’ threat of service withdrawal over extortion by the shipping companies.

The minister had summoned the meeting to prevent disruption of port operations at a time the nation was going through economic difficulties.

At the meeting held in Lagos and presided over by the Registrar of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria, CRFFN, Sam Nwakaohu, on the orders of the minister, those present expressed displeasure that the shipping companies seem to have disregarded the minister.

Nwakaohu also expressed disappointment that a crucial meeting that was convened to forestall a possible shutdown of the nation’s seaports was boycotted by the shipping lines.

He assured that the Council will reach out to other heads of government agencies in the industry, especially the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) which regulates the shipping lines directly with a view to ensuring that they attend the next meeting on the issue.

He stated: “We will do everything within our powers to ensure that we bring all the parties in the dispute to a negotiating table in the overall interest of Nigeria. The shipping companies can afford to snub the CRFFN because we do not regulate them, they possibly cannot snub the NPA, which regulates them directly.

“Our interest is the freight forwarders because we regulate them and they cried to us and we cannot afford not to intervene to protect their interest, which is the interest of Nigerians and the Nigerian nation. If the shipping companies try to snub the NPA, we will be left with only one option, which is to escalate the matter to the Minister of Transport.”

He commended the freight forwarders under the aegis of the National Compliance Team of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) for being responsible, arguing that the organisation decided not to take laws into its hands by shutting the seaports without notice.

The 100 per cent Compliance’ team of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, NAGAFF that gave the notice of service withdrawal issued another notice starting Monday.

National Coordinator of 100 per cent Compliance’ team, Tanko Ibrahim, said it was clear that the shipping line does not take notice of service withdrawal seriously, warning that they should not be blamed after the expiration of the new threat.

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