Agents Declare War on APMT

…To withdraw services this week  
 
There are strong indications that business activities may be paralyzed at the nation’s seaports this week following threats by the freight forwarders to close down the ports in protest against exorbitant charges by the shipping companies and terminal operators. The APM Terminals was particularly singled out for allegedly exploiting and collecting arbitrary charges in the ports without following due process.
The group, under the aegis of Association of Nigerian License Customs Agents (ANLCA) and the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) last week in Lagos sworn that come 26th of May 2010, they will withdraw their services from the terminals of AP Mollar for the inhuman and animalistic way with which the company has continued to treat the agents.
According to the national president of ANLCA, Prince Olayiwola Shittu, the group had to result to the withdrawal of service as all other measures of dialogue have been exhausted saying that the chapter chairmen of the association have had not less than forty five meetings with the management of APMT over the exorbitant charges.
 Shittu said: “We have lost confidence in the management of APMT and by inference we have lost confidence in those who appointed them as concessionaires, all they have come to do in this country is to milk us, rubbish us, treat us as animals and behave as if they are above the government of the federal republic”
According to him: “When we ask them to position container for us, it takes them three weeks, two weeks to book after which you will come and hear whether its your turn or not and it has degenerated to the level that some of their officials who see the way the management is rubbing off Nigeria now give you a private account number. You will pay money into it before you get booking number, if you don’t, nobody will listen to you for the next two weeks”
“We have written letters to the minister of transport, the minister of finance. The Comptroller General of Customs is aware and the manager of NPA is also aware, we have given them a notice and come 26th of May we are withdrawing our services totally from APMT”
Shittu threatened  that “if within the first week there is no response we shall withdraw totally from the federation all over the ports, to drive home the fact that APMT is not only deceitful but fraudulent” he said.
Speaking in a separate interview, the national president of NAGAFF, Mr. Eugene Nweke also assured that the withdrawal of service will be total as NAGAFF is equally fighting for the same course.
Reacting, Eugene said “all we are saying is for government to create an enabling environment for us to operate.  We will not allow the terminal operators to continue to exploit us and give us all manners of names, today we are being regarded as people who have no integrity but we know that we have integrity and we are respectable people” he said.
In the letter written to the minister of transport which was made available to Shipping Position Weekly, the agents are clamoring that all containers meant for 100% examination be evacuated to the off-dock bonded terminals, also NPA should stop sending vessels to discharge vessels at APMT as the terminal is already congested.
They are also asking for a guarantee by the federal government that hence forth agents will no longer pay for services not rendered. They however stressed that unless these terms and conditions are met they will withdraw from all the federation.