Lack of facilities angers Lagos forwarders

NIGERIAN clearing and forwarding agents have criticised the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) for the lack of cargo facilities at Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos.

“In a year, we generate well over N600 million (US$4 million) for FAAN and this we endeavoured to remit promptly, yet FAAN has failed to give us a cargo village or space for full cargo operations,” said Ambrose Eke, spokesman for the Association of Nigerian Customs Licensed Agents.

Eke was responding to allegations by the airport that so-called “jobless touts” seen about the apron and forcibly evicted were in fact legitimate forwarders simply with no official workspace and who had not been supplied with any official authorisation.

“What people see as touts are not all touts. They don’t have a place to stay, so when the rain falls [or] there is [too much] sunshine they move around in search of a place to do business without losing their clients,” he said.

Temitope Tobi, director of operations, FAAN, said: “We are being faced with a lot of challenges at FAAN, but I can assure you that we are going to look into the matter with utmost concern.”