A clearing and forwarding agents pressure group; Save Nigeria Importers, Exporters and Freight Forwarders Coalition (SNIEFFC) has threatened to drag Dangote Port Operations, Flour Mills Nigeria Limited and BUA Refinery to court for polluting the Lagos ports environment.
Coordinator of the group; Chief Osita Chukwu in a chat with Shipping Position Daily in Lagos yesterday alleged that stakeholders at the popular Nnewi Building in Apapa are inhaling wheat shafts and other harmful substances emanating from factory plants belonging to the three companies.
The Nnewi Building is directly behind Flour Mills Nigeria Limited factory, while Dangote and BUA are also not far from the building.
Osita claimed that the group has already contacted the companies through its lawyer,but that Dangote Group has denied any wrongdoing.
"We are about heading to Court because of the wheat shafts flying around the port, everyday we all have the white substance on our heads, everyday you see us having while hairs. Very soon, Dangote Flour Mills and BUA would meet us in court"
"Our lawyer has contacted them, but Dangote has denied that they are not the one and that they are only producing sugar. But whoever is responsible, let them start accusing themselves now"
"We will sue them and joined the ministry of environment, BUA, Dangote and Flour mills" he said.
Osita also threatened that the group would equally drag the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi to court if he insists on the collection of the Practitioners Operations Fee (POF)
He insisted that the transport minister cannot decide for the different associations in the sector.
"As a minister, he failed to bring all the associations together to speak as one. Now if he is dilly- dallying with ANLCA or NAGAFF, I want to tell him that some individuals are more powerful than these two associations"
He said that POF would bring disintegration into the port system, because according to him, the port system is already encumbered with high port charges.
"The documentation system at the Apapa port is very cumbersome. Also government agencies posted to Apapa are not helping matters.
Agents spend several days before they can raise debit notes"
"On the part of customs, we have alerts everywhere, alerts should be something that is not common and this shows inefficiency in the customs system"
"The port system is decayed and we don't need anything that will further complicate the system. We would head to the court of law to fight" he said.
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