APFFLON INAUGURATES NEW CHAPTER EXECUTIVES, CONDEMNS INCESSANT SERVER DOWNTIME AT CPCs
By Mcanthony Onuoha
The leadership of Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria – APPFLON, has inaugurated new Chapter Executives for Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Tincan and Kirikiri Lighter Terminal (KLT) .
The new Chapter leaders were inaugurated on Thursday at APPFLON National Secretariat, Ikeja, Lagos.
MMIA Chapter now has Fwdr. Olorunfunmi Quadri as Chairman, Fwdr Busayo Opara as Vice Chairman, Fwdr. Anslem Eke, Secretary, Fwdr. Dare Oloniahakin, Treasurer, Fwdr. Olatunji Olagoroye, Financial Secretary, Alhaji Goes Razak, PRO 1, Fwdr. Chiaboa Onochie, PRO 2, Fwdr. Sunday Afolabi, Customs Relations Officer and Fwdr. Saheed Alabi as Welfare Officer.
For Tincan Chapter, Alhaji Akeem Ayobiojo is Chairman, Fwdr. Jubril Usman, Vice Chairman, Fwdr. Nwachukwu Charles, Secretary, Fwdr. Peter Obi Anslem Assistant Secretary, Engr. Peter Mbamaonyeukwu, Treasurer, Fwdr. Sunday Aderinsoye, Assistant Treasurer, Rev. Clinton Ikechukwu Okoro, PRO, while Fwdr. Rasheed Tijani is Customs Relations Officer.
KLT has a brand new APPFLON Team, with
Fwdr. Haruna Isiaku Aliyu as Chairman, Fwdr. Abdul Yaya, Secretary, Fwdr. Abdul Majeed, Financial Secretary, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq, Customs Relations Officer and Fwdr. Omotayo Rufus as Welfare Officer.
Addressing the new Chapter leaders, the National President of APPFLON, Otunba Frank Ogunojemite stressed the importance of facing the task of leadership with uncommon courage saying that it is the right leadership quality one needs to surmount every challenge. He went further to recommend team work, humility and tolerance as the ingredients that brew excellent leadership.
He congratulated the new Chapter leaders on their inauguration while reminding them that APPFLON will remain in the forefront of maritime advocacy in the areas of professionalism, enabling business environment and trade facilitation, urging them not to compromise in the aforementioned areas .
Meanwhile, APPFLON had expressed concern over incessant server downtime at the PTML Terminal, Tin Can Island Port and almost all Customs Processing Centers across all Nigerian ports, which has posed humongous challenge to Importers and their agents as they continue to pay avoidable demurrages and additional haulage cost.
Speaking at the inauguration, the National President of APPFLON, Otunba Frank Ogunojemite regretted the frustrations faced by freight forwarders, calling on the Federal Government to address the challenge.
According to Ogunojemite, “we cannot be here today without addressing the issues in our industry. If you work at Tin Can Port, you are aware that the server has not been functioning for almost a week. As a result, we’ve been receiving calls from our clients and importers, who are concerned about rent payments, the situation is discouraging people from continuing in the business and must be resolved.”
He pointed to broader challenges affecting the industry, such as the weakening Naira and rising freight costs, which have impacted both imports and exports.
He explained that while efforts have been made to contact the relevant authorities, no clear explanation has been provided for the server issues.
“We suspect it may be related to the newly introduced B’Odogwu trade platform or the persistent issues with the Web Fontaine system, but we still await clarification from customs management,” he said.
Despite these efforts, Ogunojemite warned that resolving the server issues alone would not be enough. “Our problems won’t end until shipping and terminal operators waive the rent charges for us. In the past, when the NPA was in charge, customs would send a signal to NPA and rent charges were waived. But now, importers and freight forwarders are being unfairly penalized,” he noted.
The APFFLON president further called for the fast-tracking of the Nigeria Shippers Council bill, stressing that the council currently lacks the legal capacity to sanction operators, which leaves freight forwarders burdened with unnecessary costs, including rent on public holidays and Sundays.
