A freight forwarding group; the Association of Concerned Freight Forwarders and Logistics (ACFFL) has called on the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) to carry out what it described as compulsory testing for COVID-19 for freight forwarders and clearing agents operating at the nation’s seaports.
The chairman of the group, Chief Andy Best Omenogor who said this in a chat with Shipping Position Daily in Apapa last week added that it will be difficult as at now to know who have been infected with the virus among freight forwarders, the group added that freight forwarders were exposed during the lockdown.
“Let them come and conduct test for clearing agents for them to know how many of them are carrying the Coronavirus disease; nobody knows who has been infected or not all these while”, he said.
He frowned at the attitude of the leaders of the various freight forwarding associations at the ports, even as he lauded the former national president of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) Price Olayiwola Shittu for his proactive approach during his days as ANLCA president.
“They should not talk again so that they will not provoke a lot of persons. They should mind what they say because what they say most times can be destructive, people should not use wrong words on people. If they know there is a problem in the industry they should address it the way it should be addressed, that is why I like the former national president of ANLCA, Shittu and Kamba, when they were at the heads of association people respected them so much, people have not for once gone for strike”
Omenogor charged heads of different associations at the ports to as much as possible call the shipping companies and terminal operators to order.
“The so called leaders of the various associations, why can’t they call the terminal operator and shipping companies to order at least in my own capacity, I know I have called a few and they told me what their problems are. I told them to calm down, let’s see what the Nigerian Shippers’ Council and other agencies are doing, that was why they calmed down on Monday. Not because they want to go on strike, we even heard they want to use the Police to arrest agents if they had gone on strike”, he stated.
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