Exactly one year ago, the National President of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) Chief Tochukwu Ezisi during his official visit pleaded with the management of Lekki Deep Seaport to allocate a space for Freight Forwarders village.
It now seems that the management of the seaport has paid only lip service to the request of the NAGAFF people through their national president, The president
complained that “The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) that should ideally demand that freight forwarders should be domiciled in the port area, are also adamant on this matter”.
Chief Ezisi lamented that “In 2023 the NCS command at LFTZ said it generated ₦74 Billion (Seventy-four billion naira) and the major stakeholders who assisted the NCS in generating this huge revenue are the freight forwarders whom the concessionaires neglected in the original master plan” he asked.
“One could then wonder, who is in the Lekki Deep Seaport that is performing the function of the Freight Forwarders”?
He added “Let it be known that Freight Forwarders are the customs revenue mobilisers as well as the real trade facilitators that interface directly with Importers, Terminal Operators, Shipping companies and other government agencies in their daily operation at the port terminals”.
“Every other stakeholder at the port has offices that are well-equipped and located within the port space. Multi-national companies are given quality space within the port area to erect structures for their businesses but Freight Forwarders who are also key players within the port area are always neglected”.
The NAGAFF President noted that “Besides mobilising revenue for the Federal Government, Freight Forwarders provide value-added services including packaging of products for Export to different countries.
Freight Forwarders handle the documentation and processing of imported goods and raw materials for local production, thereby facilitating international trade, and hence should be accorded equal respect and opportunity to have a Freight Forwarders village within the seaport community”. He concluded.
