Forwarders call CTN fees at Nigerian ports a scam

THE introduction of the cargo tracking note (CTN) system by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), to bolster cargo security and safety, is a continuing source of controversy amid claims that the system is having "dire consequences" on the country's import trade.

This comes as foreign shipping lines under the aegis of Shipping Association of Nigeria (SAN) are threatening to stop accepting sea freight destined for Nigeria unless the CTN fees are paid in advance.

CTN is a tool for tracking import/export cargo from the manufacturing factory to the port of destination. The Transport and Port Management Services (TPMS) is overseeing the programme's implementation.

According to comments made by freight forwarders to the Daily Independent, they will resist CTN and all tactics to force them to continue paying the charges "by any means possible." They complain that the scheme is adding to already high cargo clearance costs in Nigeria.

"CTN is a scam," Tony Iju Nwabunike, pioneer chairman of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), was quoted as saying in a report by Nigeria's Daily Independent. "If SAN says they are not going to load without CTN, we say we are not going to pay, there will be a total breakdown of import system in the country."

He added, "I will fight CTN to a standstill and make sure all the money they have fraudulently collected from Nigerians will be returned."

The Senate Committee on Marine Transport is said to have heavily criticised the management of the NPA over what it described as "misleading' the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in approving the now controversial cargo tracking note (CTN).

Senate Committee on Marine Transport chairwoman Gbemisola Saraki slammed the implementation of the scheme, claiming what had been presented to the FEC for approval was different from what was actually being implemented.

"The presentation made to the Federal Executive Council was misleading," she said. "NPA misled the Federal Ministry of Transport and the ministry in turn misled the Federal Executive Council into approving the CTN."

According to the chairwoman, the FEC approved the scheme based on the recommendation from the NPA and the Ministry of Transport that its introduction in Nigeria would result in no extra costs for shippers and government.
(Source:www.schednet.com)