Licensed customs agents operating at the ports have concluded plans to meet and discuss the way forward as the Nigerian Ports Authority plans to implement the 15 per cent port tariff hike on March 1.
The National President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, Mr. Emenike Nwokeoji, said the association will soon meet to deliberate on the way forward with all the charges at the ports.
He said that aside from the NPA, other agencies and operators in the port have also raised their tariffs.
“We will soon meet to deliberate on all of them. Other agencies of the government raise their own. The terminal operators are giving notice,” Nwokeoji said.
When asked what percent increase the terminal operators are looking at, he said, “Some are demanding 100 per cent, some are demanding 150 per cent.”
The ANLCA boss stated that whatever tax or tariff is placed on imports, it is the common man that bears the cost, thereby making the cost of goods very expensive in the country.
“What we must know is that whatever amount you add, whatever tax that is imposed on imports, it is a tax on the common man. Because no importer consumes free food, he will build it into his cost and pass it on to the common man. Because they can’t abandon their goods in the port because of that,” Nwokeoji said.
Speaking at the meeting, he said, “We are not meeting with the NPA; we are meeting among ourselves to put every card on the table. And we will come up with a common position.”
He said for now, there are no plans for the withdrawal of services by the members, adding that service withdrawal is going to the extreme, and that they will first discuss with the stakeholders involved, like the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, among others.
He said that the group is not thinking about service withdrawal, stressing that they are optimistic that the government would consider their position for the sake of the common man.
Nwokeoji said that they will be meeting with the relevant government agencies as a group of associations if there is a need for that.
“If there is a need to meet with them, then we will meet with them. Not on individual associations. We will meet as a group. The associations will meet and arrive at the common position, which we will present to the government,” he said.
“Whatever taxation they are imposing on people, they should know that they are imposing it on Nigerians. It’s going to increase the cost of production. For manufacturers and for finished goods and merchandise, it will increase the cost of the product,” he concluded.
Corroborating Nwokeoji’s assertion, the National President of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, Mr. Toochukwu Ezisi, said, “Of course, the five accredited associations under the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria, which is our regulator, will meet and take a position on that. Withdrawal of services is not the first thing to do. Like I said, we will take a position after our meeting. We will meet and make our position clear, but like I said, withdrawal of services is not the first thing to do. Soon we will meet, and after that, we will meet with the NPA.”