The Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON) has issued a formal plea to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, urging an immediate reduction of the 7% cargo clearance surcharge at Nigerian ports. The group says the levy is deepening the economic crisis and choking trade.<\/p>\n
In a letter delivered to the Presidential Villa, APFFLON described the surcharge as an \u201cunsustainable burden\u201d on importers, exporters, and logistics operators. With inflation climbing, the Naira weakening, and businesses fighting to survive, the association warned that the cost of clearing cargo has reached record highs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cost of clearing cargo is at an all-time high,\u201d the association stated, warning that the surcharge is inflating import prices, disrupting supply chains, and pushing many legitimate businesses into financial distress.<\/p>\n
APFFLON questioned the continued relevance of the surcharge, noting that most port terminals have been concessioned and are now operated by private entities. According to the group, port users receive no direct value or improved service from the surcharge, making its retention \u201cquestionable.\u201d<\/p>\n
While acknowledging the Federal Government\u2019s efforts to boost revenue and improve infrastructure, APFFLON cautioned that overburdening trade stakeholders could stifle productivity, discourage formal trade, and fuel inflation.<\/p>\n
The association outlined four key demands:<\/p>\n
An immediate downward review of the 7% surcharge.<\/p>\n
An audit of how surcharge funds are utilized.<\/p>\n
Stakeholder consultations to develop a fair and inclusive port revenue model.<\/p>\n
A harmonized and transparent port pricing system to eliminate overlapping levies and reduce bottlenecks.<\/p>\n
APFFLON President, Frank Ogunojemite, emphasized that reducing the surcharge would demonstrate the administration\u2019s commitment to inclusive economic recovery and ease of doing business.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs professionals dedicated to the growth and integrity of Nigeria\u2019s maritime sector, we stand ready to support all reform efforts that prioritize national interest and economic revival,\u201d Ogunojemite said.<\/p>\n
The appeal comes amid growing calls from industry stakeholders for regulatory reforms to ease trade and support Nigeria\u2019s struggling economy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON) has issued a formal plea to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, urging an immediate reduction of the 7% cargo clearance surcharge at Nigerian ports. The group says the levy is deepening the economic crisis and choking trade. In a letter delivered to the Presidential […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7218,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-maritime-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8356"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8357,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8356\/revisions\/8357"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peoplesforumonline.com.ng\/about\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}