Create Platform For Complaints Against Seaport Terminal Operators, Minister Charges NSC
Fred Omotara, Lagos
The Honourable Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Jaji Sambo has urged the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) to provide a platform where importers can lodge complaint against terminal operators who charge above approved rate at seaports.
Speaking when he paid an official visit to the NSC in Lagos at the weekend, the Minister also urged the NSC to establish a ports community system in the country.
According to Alhaji Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, “Even other neighboring countries, like Republic of Benin, have a port community system working for them. The responsibility is on Nigerian Shippers Council to get the Ports community system working. Get a working model from another country and replicate it here. We must have a Ports community system working in Nigeria before the end of this administration.”
The Minister recalled the significant achievement so far recorded in the implementation of the dry Ports projects and urged the Shippers Council to work towards the successful take off of the dry Ports in other designated areas of Jos, Aba, and Ibadan.
He said the President has approved that cargo tracking should be handled by the Ministry of Transportation, as the traditional role holders of cargo tracking, adding that this responsibility falls on the Nigerian Shippers Council. He advised the Agency to justify the confidence that the President has placed on the Ministry.
On the issue of terminal charges, Sambo said there have been complains of high terminal charges by terminal operators. He advised that approved template for terminal charges should be adhered to and that the NSC should embark on massive enlightenment on the approved charges and should provide a platform through which importers can report terminal operators that charge beyond the approved rates.