Even as the Lagos State House of Assembly is yet to pass the controversial “wharf landing fees”, strong indication emerged last week that some unidentified persons have already commenced discrete collection inn some parts of Lagos.
Shipping Position Weekly had reported exclusively recently that the “wharf landing fees” bill was already before the state legislature and that the state government was set to commence collection as soon as the bill was passed.
But last week, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) raised alarm that it had received reports that some unidentified persons “have been stopping container laden trucks and collecting various amounts of money form the drivers as dues on the containers”.
It consequently alerted importers and truck drivers that the collection was illegal and advised that the levies should not be paid, even as it requested that any attempt to forcefully collect the money should be reported to its head office, zonal and port offices.
However, our correspondent went in search of those who were suspected to be collecting the levies and he was told at first that it was the Importers’ Association of Nigeria (IMAN).
But when contacted, the association’s president, Chief Onuchukwu James told Shipping Position Weekly that his association was not a party to it and that even though it plans to collect, it had not commenced collection.
Insisting on his association’s innocence, the IMAN president declared that:”who told you that we are collecting, let the person who told you that substantiate it”.
“Our association is supposed to be funded by the Shippers’ Council from whatever they collect from the seven per cent surcharge, but they have refused to fund us and that is why we have concluded plans to commence collection of due on all imports into the country”.
He refused to disclosed when the association’s collections will start, but stressed that it was not part of the one that necessitated the Shippers Council’s alarm.
But, the IMAN president wondered why the Shippers Council is pretending not to know that area boys and some uniformed officials of the government have been collecting such monies for quite a while.
Are they saying that as the agency which is supposed to protect the interest of Nigerian importers, they did not know that area boys, the Police, Customs and even Army collect money on trucks” , he asked.
Similarly, speaking through the Governor’s special adviser on taxation and revenue matters, Mr Adeola Ipaye, the Lagos state government dissociated itself from the illegal collection.
“Those who are collecting are not from the Lagos state government, they are not Lagos government officials, we will not start collection until the law is passed by the House of Assembly”, he stated.
Mr Ipaye however promised to make enquiries from the local government. He promised to get back to us.
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