The Nigerian Shippers’ Council has set up an enforcement team which will begin investigation of activities of shipping companies, terminal operators and other service providers with regards to compliance with the Council's regulations and guidelines.
This is even as the Council has said that its complaints department has secured a refund of more than N1billion to Nigerians, through proper and successful handling of their complaints.
Disclosing this at a one day seminar organised by the South-West Zone of the Council in Ogun state last week, Assistance Director, Complaint Unit; Mr. Moses Fadipe said that the enforcement team is acting in line with the Shippers Council’s Regulation of 2015. He said the enforcement team has powers to enter premises of any operator to investigate activities without prior notice.
He warned that anybody or operator who fails to comply with the provisions of these regulations or performs any act in contravention of the provisions, shall be deemed to have committed an offence and shall be liable to appropriate sanctions which shall include private or public warning, suspension of operations, sealing of premises for a specific period of time.
Other sanctions according to him include: blacklisting or de-registration and revocation of operating licenses of such operator.
Fadipe noted that one major challenge of the Council as an economic regulator is resistance to regulation by terminal operators under the aegis of Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN) despite their expression of acceptance and pledge of cooperation.
He recalled that the STOAN and the of Shipping Association of Nigeria had dragged the Council to the Federal High Court two years ago over alleged collection of some illegal charges. He said that the court had ruled in favour of the Council in tune of N1trillion which should be refunded by the terminal operators. He however said that the case was dragged to the Appeal Court.
Fadipe said the Council as an economic regulator has responsibilities of public protection by holding organisations to account for the ways in which they deal with people and respond to their complaints. He said the Council is determined to create the much-needed level playing field in the ports sector.
"With its new status, NSC will ensure efficiency at the ports, reduction in cargo dwell time, reduction in the cost of doing business, entrenching healthy competition for the benefit of all stakeholders, improvement in vessel turnaround time and increase in cargo throughput which will invariably lead to increase in revenue to government and private investors"
"Also, with the Ports Service Support Portal, the challenges of non-transparency and slow response of some stakeholders in complaints handling will be a thing of the past" he said.
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