NCJTFCLA SENDS GOOD WILL MESSAGE TO MARITIME STAKEHOLDERS
By Mcanthony Onuoha
The National Compliance Joint Taskforce of Licenced Clearing Agents- NCJTFCLA has sent a new year message of good will to maritime stakeholders.
The Advocacy group, in the message signed by its Board Chairman and National President, Chief Dr. Basil Chudi Nwolisa (Abadikeogu), felicitated maritime practitioners and all the stakeholders on their resilience and doggedness in 2024, and for surmounting all the challenges of the outgoing year, especially, the excruciating hardship fueled by harsh economic policies introduced by the government, which whittled down the financial strength of freight forwarders and emasculated many businesses.
According to Nwolisa, ” we should be grateful to God Almighty for His goodness and mercies towards us. 2024 is gone with all its challenges, it was a very difficult year for freight forwarders because of very harsh trade policies that were introduced by the government. I can say that freight forwarders were the worst hit, many lost their importers, some were completely thrown out of business. But in all, we survived it, and to the glory of God, we are stepping into a new year. I want to say congratulations to everyone that survived in 2024.”
“We, at NCJTFCLA wish to express our appreciation to Clearing agents for their peaceful conduct in 2024, despite all they went through in the course of business, they never resorted to violence, they did not embark on strike or protest of any kind. There was smooth and seamless port operations throughout. They really deserve commendation”.
“As we usher in a new year, l urge all the leaderships of various associations to prioritize the welfare of their members. Freight Forwarders are passing through intimidation, humiliation and extortion; in the hands of revenue collectors. We need to speak up, and stop keeping quiet because of selfishness. Associations should always fight for the collective good of freight forwarders and not for individual gains.”
” NCJTFCLA will not sit down and watch continued extortion and humiliation of clearing agents. Some get jobs but go back home empty handed after delivering the jobs, these are family men who have responsibilities to shoulder. We have observed that even Junior officers acquire sleek cars within three months of being posted to Tincan command or Apapa. And we are also aware of what is happening in the auction allocation regime. We shall address all these issues because the shenanigans that went on in almost all the commands in 2024 must not be allowed to continue in the new year.”
“NCJTFCLA is wishing all maritime stakeholders a very prosperous 2025”.
