Following last week re-opening of the two cargo handling companies at the airport in Lagos, namely; Skyways Aviation Handling Company Limited {SAHCOL} and the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO), operators have expressed different opinions on why the terminals were shut down.
Freight forwarders have said that the blame should be attributed to all the relevant stakeholders operating at the airport for the closure of the two warehouses.
Following last week re-opening of the two cargo handling companies at the airport in Lagos, namely; Skyways Aviation Handling Company Limited {SAHCOL} and the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO), operators have expressed different opinions on why the terminals were shut down.
Freight forwarders have said that the blame should be attributed to all the relevant stakeholders operating at the airport for the closure of the two warehouses.
They said the Nigerian Customs Service {NCS}, the handling companies and the freight forwarders were all responsible for the closure.
Speaking with the media in Lagos, yesterday, the Executive Chairman, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Musa Segun said that the closure was an eye opener to all stakeholders operating at the airport.
According to him, most of the issues have been resolved but everyone was involved in the closure of the warehouses.
Musa said’’ the fault is from every operator at the port because at the end of the day everybody has to accept the blame’’.
‘’the customs ,the handlers and the operators which are the freight forwarders all accepted the blame why the warehouses were shutdown due to the peculiarity at the airport because goods are not expected to be delayed at the port’’
‘’And anybody that patronize the aviation sector expect the goods to be cleared at the shortest possible time and everybody work toward timing therefore if the system fails definitely everybody will like to look for other means to fast track delivery of the shipments’’
He also said that the cooperation among the customs, the handling companies and the freight forwarders at the port has been cordial since the re-opening of the warehouses.
‘’the relationship among stakeholders in the airport has always been cordial, though we may differ in terms of policies, but we are working together to make the Nigeria economy grow through revenue generation for the government’’, he stated.
On his part, Chairman, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Mr. Nze Aloysius Igwe expressed satisfaction it the reopening of the two warehouses.
He said that as a source of revenue for the government, the closure might affect revenue collection for the government. He however lauded the Comptroller General of Customs on the re – opening of the storehouses.
Aloysius noted that ‘’customs oversee bonded warehouses, if they discover any discrepancy in the operations of any warehouse, they have the statutory right to shut it down and to the customs, I must say it is justified’’.
He noted that the closure was a tripartite mistake by the customs, the handlers and the freight forwarders.
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