About $6b is lost yearly by stakeholders in the shipping sector due to poor packaging and delivery of goods, aside other inherent losses.
The special guest of honour at a special meeting of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agent (ANLCA) in Abuja, Barrister Hassan Bello, noted that the losses in the shipping industry are on the high side, due to lack of strong willed professional administration regulator.
Reason he called on clearing agents at the seaports to unite in the quest to solve the myriads of challenges bedeviling operations in the maritime industry.
Bello, therefore, called on the leadership of the association to let go their differences and pursue common cause of professional leadership to tackle challenges facing the industry.
“For instance, the poor packaging and delivery of goods leads to about an annual industry loss estimated at $6b, beside other inherent losses.
“The shipping industry lacks capacity at attaining seamless operations and it is replete with myriads of complains. Meanwhile, the factions in ANLCA at a peace accord meeting agreed to a peaceful resolution to function as a united professional body.
The agreement was reached after an intervention by the Customs Consultative Committee (CCC) chaired by Aare Hakeem Olanrewaju in Abuja bringing to an end a four-year rancor within the association.
The communique issued at the end of the meeting revealed that the agreement has been reached on the present National Executive Committee (NECOM) to round off in the next two weeks after which it will hand over the affairs of the association to the Board, while Association Electoral Committee (ASECO) concludes the election within four weeks from July 19, 2023.
The members, in a communique, by Secretary of the committee, Dr Eugene Nweke, also agreed that all pending court cases be withdrawn with the association be given an opportunity to address the issues internally.
The committee observed that the lingering misunderstanding has had negative impact on freight forwarding practitioners amid several challenges plaguing the sector.
The accord meeting mutually resolved that members of the presently constituted ASECO should continue in office subject to confirmation by the CCC that all members of the commission hold valid licenses.
“That the Board of Trustees as presently constituted by the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) meeting should continue in office subject to the verification of the members licenses by the CCC pending the election of a new board by ASECO within the earliest possible time.”
