APFFLON backs maritime workers strike, declares to join

…Condemns attack on ANCLA secretariat…

By Ezurike Ugochukwu

The Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON) has declared support for the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN) on the three weeks ultimatum given to shipping companies at the county’s ports to own container holding bays or face decision of the union to shuts the ports.

APFFLON, an African based freight forwarders group to this end has stated its readiness to join in the strike action since it seems dialogue has failed, stating if that will help to solve the perennial problems in the port, it wouldn’t mind.

The shipping companies it said have continued to flout government directives especially during the lockdown period.

Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, MWUN President-elect General

Last Sunday, maritime workers Union petitioned the federal government to prevail on the shipping companies to acquire container holding bays to avoid using trucks as holding bays as well as to avoid causing avoidable traffics on the port access roads.

In a chart with Nation Update on Tuesday, APFFLON President, Otunba Frank Ogunojemite said foreign shipping lines and terminal operators have continously despised government’s directives.

Stating that this reckless act of the foreign companies have severally endangered the lives of Nigerians.

Ogunojemite said,  “Government is the cause of the problem. For example, the Nigerian Shippers’Council has been given to regulate but do they have legislative power to sanction them? What has government done about this

“The shipping companies and terminal operators are taking government and people of Nigeria for granted in endangering our lives and affect the economic prospects of the country.

“There must be strict government policy to regulate this and empower Nigerian Shippers’ Council to have legislative power to sanction and there must be collaboration among maritime stakeholders.

“Before they decided to go on strike, there must have been dialogue between them but they probably remained adamant

“In this case, I support the strike and we are ready to join the strike if that is the only language they will understand to normalize the situation in the port, why not.”

Concerning the collection of Prectitioners’ Operating Fees(POF), by the Regulation of Freight Forwarders in Nigeria(CRFFN), he stated that AFFLON and other associations have not been carried along, that he said necessitated his recent release stating that the council as a body constituted to regulate the industry is a good idea but the present management of the council has not lived up to expectation.

“So far so good, I can categorically tell you that the past executive that  constituted the council and brought the idea of council has never in anyway  been carried along In decision making, so how do you achieve prosperity in that kind of situations? The success is very low.

“You’re emphasizing the POF, stakeholders are not being engaged, as such, nobody knows the money being collected, there is no engagement, no communication, how do you exercise what you want to do?

“how can you answer a shepherd without sheep they say a tree does not make a forest, the activities in the port have been there before the evolution of CRFFN , what brought CRFFN was to  make things better, to have engagement with the people, but I can say the present executive are the worst so far,” he stated.

Reacting on the recent attack on the secretariat of
Association of Nigerian Licenced Customs Agents(ANLCA) he harped on the need to address situations of things in the country together.

Ogunojemite, stated that there has been need to contribute positively to the developed of Freight Forwarders and port operations in Nigeria.

Nwabunike

“Honesty, I felt bad by the attack, as soon as I heard of it, I put a call across to the National President, Hon. Tony Nwabunike, we spoke.

“We are praying for peace in the association because when things fall apart, the centre cannot hold, ANLCA is a major stakeholder, and it cannot be under rated, like has been said, we are not here to rival anyone, there is a Lacuna, and we are trying to fill the gap, and it seems our sister associations are busy doing other things,” he emphasized.