Calumny against Nigerian Shippers Council

The barrage of media attacks being unleashed on Nigerian Shippers’ Council by faceless writers masquerading as terminal operators calls to question why they do not want to embrace change.
We are worried because people who have been entrenched with corrupt tendencies are never amenable to change. To them change means an attempt to undermine their business hence all arsenal must be put in place to resist change.
As a concerned stakeholder, I wish to state that the statement, attributed to the Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN) accusing the management of Nigeria Shippers’ Council of scaring away investors from Nigeria, creating division and tension in the maritime industry, among others, is not only false but also an attempt to mislead the government in a cover up over the seaport concessionaires” nefarious activities since the Nigerian seaport terminals were concession to them in 2005/2006.
The seaport terminal operators (concessionaries), have operated their terminals for Eight Years without an Economic Regulator, and therefore had a field day during the period, have become used to running their terminals with wanton disregard of the Nigerian laws and even the provisions of the concession agreements that granted them the concession of the terminals and which spelt out their privileges and obligations.
Before the appointment of Nigerian Shippers’ Council as the Ports Economic Regulator (PER) last year, the concessionaires, operated unsupervised, unregulated and with reckless impunity without any respect to the Nigerian economy. Before the appointment of Nigerian Shippers’ Council as an economic regulator, the seaport terminal operators levied charges and fees without permission and thereby making the Nigerian ports to rank as the most expensive in the world.
One of the main goals of the Government Port Reforms is to reduce cost, but the cost to shippers has remained very high. Therefore, the port terminal operators are actually scaring investors and not Nigerian Shippers’ Council.
However, I am least surprised by the latest trick of STOAN. This is their stock in trade. They hate to regulate. They have infiltrated and captured the state through their corrupt activities. They operate like a Mafia, above the law and have made Nigerian ports costly, unfriendly and that is why people prefer importing their goods through neighboring ports, thereby denying Nigeria the huge expected revenue from the Maritime Industry.
But for Nigerian Shippers” Council, these terminal operators would have been carrying out their anti- Nigerian activities unchecked. This is common knowledge, and when Nigerian Shippers’ Council attempted to check them, they resorted to court action. The court courageously decided in favour of Nigerians Shippers’ Council and the terminal operators were asked to refund about one trillion naira (N1tr.) illegally collected charges and fees. However, of course they are “above Nigerian laws” and will not abide by the court judgment.
Now, as it is their practice, they have seen a new serious government coming in and they have become desperate. I therefore wish to caution the new government to disregard the terminal operators’ ploy and to beam the searchlight on the Maritime Industry. The government would be amazed at the wanton impunity, revenue leakages, corruption and capital flight all aided by the terminal operators. In fact, the leading terminal operator, a multinational, often referred to Nigerian Freight Forwarders as monkeys.
I wish to salute the courage of Nigerian Shippers’ Council as the only agency that has refused to compromise. That is why a campaign of calumny is launched by the powerful cartel of STOAN to intimidate them. However, we the stakeholders who know the terminal operators‘ antics and antecedents remain solidly behind Nigerian Shippers’ Council.