Multinational shipping firms operating in Nigeria on Friday, snubbed the Nigerian Shippers Council NSC, the country’s economic regulator for the ports and the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding practice in Nigeria CRFFN as they failed to attend a meeting to discuss extortion allegations levelled against them and an impending strike by freight forwarders.

Recall that Freight Forwarders in the country had issued a two-week strike notice from November 10, 2021 to multinational shipping lines operating in the country over what they called multitudes of complaints bothering on extortion and several other forms of imposition of illegal charges on their clients, the importers and transporters.

The shipping companies had refused to attend two separate meetings convened by the NSC and the CRFFN, which regulates the freight forwarders even though they were duly invited, a development the stakeholders described as an affront to the Nigerian authorities.

Registrar/CEO of the CRFFN, Sam Nwakaohu, who spoke at the meeting, noted that it was shocking and unacceptable for the shipping lines to have stayed away from such a crucial meeting that was convened to forestall a possible shutdown of the nation’s seaports, which would have far reaching negative impact on the maritime industry and by extension, the nation’s economy.

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 meeting in order to forestall a possible shutdown of the seaports, which is not desirable now.

“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, I am sure they will not snub him”, the CRFFN-boss said.

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

“You are a responsible organisation and your behavious have been exemplary. You decided not to take laws into your hands rather you chose to follow legal process of handling such issues and here we are, so we will ensure that your grievances were addressed using all legal means and we will not let you down”, he also said.

A highpoint of the event attended by representatives of the freight forwarders, led by the National Coordinator of the Compliance Team, Alhaji Tanko Ibrahim and truckers, led by the Chairman of Association of Maritime Truck Owners AMATO, Chief Remi Ogungbemi was the reading of the eight-point communiqe.

The stakeholders agreed that representatives of the shipping companies must be made to attend the next meeting to be held on a yet to be agreed date and time and that the freight forwarders should pause the proposed strike action.

It was also the consensus of all parties in attendance that the CRFFN should synergise with the NPA and the Nigeria Customs Service with a view to strengthening the enforcement of the laws that protect the interest of freight forwarders but that they should in turn be patient with the new Information Technology introduced by some of the shipping lines. The freight forwarders should also automate their operational processes to be in tune with global developments.

Stakeholders also agreed that the freight forwarders and their clients, the importers and transporters should not be made to bear the cost of down time in the operations of the shipping companies and that NPA should ensure that freight forwarders should not be made to suffer due to the inadequacy of container holding bays, the issue of transfer of containers to some bonded terminals without the consent of the freight forwarders should urgently be reviewed.

The stakeholders also agreed that the payment of un-receipted N100, 000 by freight forwarders, importers and transporters before they are allowed to drop their empty containers should stop with immediate effect.