CAC Yusuf, Dr. Musa and Mr. Chukwunenye.
Story by Dili Utomi.
In a bid to stem the tide of the economic losses resulting from the almost two weeks withdrawal of services by the freight forwarding fraternity and to engender harmony within the system, the Customs Area Controller of the Murtala Mohammed Command (MMAC) of the Nigeria Customs Service, Comptroller M.S. Yusuf has frantically waded into the dispute between the freight forwarders and the Ground Handling Companies (GHCs) otherwise known as the terminal operators and so the resolution of the imbroglio seems imminent.
Comptroller Yusuf had expressed his desire to see the disagreement resulting from the 300% increase in the handling charges by the two terminal operators at the Airports expediently resolved as he spoke with us in his office. The CAC had detailed that he has been playing the role of the mediator by bringing the warring parties to the round table and agree on a particular increase, but that some members of the freight forwarding associations are not in tandem with the agreement to have the 75% negotiated rate increase as the final solution to the impasse. He would want the freight forwarders to resume their services so that the national economy will not completely break down.
The kernel of the matter is the fact that the two Ground Handling Companies (GHCs) or terminal operators at the various Airports in the Country, the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO AVIANCE) and the Skypower Aviation Handling Company (SAHCO) had in February this year increased their handling charges by 300% siting the high cost of foreign exchange, the need to upgrade their facilities as well as many other factors that militate against their businesses and that have pushed the cost of doing business high as reasons for the hike in rate.
This medium sought the views of the two Ground Handling Companies and at SAHCO, we were refered to a young man named Emmanuel and who is of the corporate communications department. He spoke briefly with us and said that the head of the corporate communications department, Vanessa Uasohia was in a meeting and could not attend to us. Subsequent calls to her telephone lines were neither picked nor returned.
At the NAHCO AVIANCE office, we were unable to meet with the assistant general manager, corporate communications, but the receptionist put in an intercom call to him. The AGM spoke briefly with this reporter and promised to send the joint resolution of the GHCs to our whatsapp number, that he eventually did.
The resolutions of the GHCs dated the 28th of April read in part “That the final rates adjustment was effectuated in line with Aviation standard as all relevant stakeholders recognised by law including government agencies and the regulator were duly consulted. We have also complied with the relevant provisions of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)’s four main principles on increase in charges for Airport and Air Navigation Service providers as contained in ICAO Doc 9082, which are:
Cost recovery
Transparency
Consultation with users and
Non-Discrimination”.
The GHCs resolution also noted that some freight forwarders have already resumed with the process of clearing of goods from from their terminals.
On the part of the freight forwarders, we met with the MMAC chapter chairman of the Association of Nigerian Licenced Customs Agents (ANLCA), Adewusi Bamgbala who refered us to his vice, Ben Chukwunenye who detailed the efforts put in so far by the freight forwarders to resolve the impasse.
The vice chairman said that their major grieviance stems from the fact that it has not been up to 3 years since the last increase in handling charges and that the unfortunate advent of the covid-19 pandemic never really allowed them to operate properly over the period.
He said that the GHCs proposed to reduce the rate to 100%, but that the freight Forwarders are ready to work with a 60% rate increase, but that again it seems that the GHCs have their minds set on a particular rate and are not budging. Mr. Chukwunenye lamented that the staff members of the GHCs charge them extra amounts before removing the pallets or for any other service which they have already officially paid for and that all complaints to the management of these GHCs about the extortions by their staff members have always fallen on deaf ears.
He also complained that the cost of clearing of goods from the Nigerian Airports is about the highest in Africa and also more than those in most countries of the world and that the GHCs especially NAHCO AVIANCE are always guilty of executing agreements only in breaches.
It should be noted that as at press time, a 75% increase has been tentatively agreed upon and this may likely be the final resolution preparatory to the resumption of services by the striking freight forwarders.
Our two-days investigation over the disagreement also took us to the deputy national president, air logistics of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Dr. Segun Musa. Dr. Musa who has over three decades of experience in the sector exuded great confidence that the brouhaha over the increase is tentatviely resolved and that the freight forwarders will resume services by Monday, the 8th of May.
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