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Importers, airlines lose N7bn to closure of warehouses

By BusinessNews Staff on December 6, 2014

Importers, airlines and other stakeholders lost about N7 billion to the two weeks closure of bonded warehouses owned by the Skyway Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL) and the Nigeria Aviation Handling Company Plc (nahco aviance), hampered activities at the Lagos cargo terminal.
The warehouses were reopened on Wednesday by the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Alhaji Dikko Inde Abdullahi.
The warehouses were closed by Nigeria Customs due to the unruly behaviour of clearing agents who allegedly attacked a team of senior officials of Customs who were on inspection tour at the bulk breaking section of nahco aviance warehouse. It was also alleged that operators at the cargo terminal breach security at the facility.
But the closure paralysed economic activities at the terminal and led to heavy losses by airlines, importers, handling companies, the federal government and clearing agents.
President of the Association of Foreign Airlines and Representatives in Nigeria (AFARN), Kingsley Nwokoma, said the losses were unquantifiable and could well be over N7 billion considering the goods due for Nigeria that were suspended in various warehouses in different countries of the world.
He said the closure has damaged the reputation of Nigeria as a cargo destination because the reason why the terminal was closed did not abide with international regulations and therefore could not be justified, considering the fact that aviation is guided by international rules.
“The loss was unquantifiable. So much has been lost. A lot of carriers have not been bringing cargo to Nigeria because their clients told them not to airlift cargo to Nigeria, so these goods are lying down at various warehouses in the world. This has also damaged Nigeria’s reputation in the comity of nations because there was no good reason for the closure of the warehouses,” Nwokoma said.
Ethiopian Airlines, Saudi Arabia Airways and other cargo airlines that bring heavy cargo to Lagos everyday as well as Nigerian customers lost huge resources.
Also, one of Nigeria’s major carriers, Arik Air also lost huge revenue to the closure as a source in the airline told THISDAY that its large body aircraft that operate international destinations to Dubai, London, New York and Dubai bring in a lot of cargo, which complements the revenues the airline earns from providing passenger service.
“Arik Air lost money on the closure. Arik brings in cargo with our large body aircraft and since the past two weeks this service has seized so we lost a lot of money,” the source told THISDAY.
The Comptroller-General while re-opening the warehouses said the statutory responsibility of Customs is well spelt out, which is revenue collection and remittance of such to federation account. He therefore warned that anybody or group of persons that would want to hinder the Service from the lawful performance of its duties would be punished.
“We have to invoke the section of our laws that empowers us to take action against anybody who feels we should not do our duties as stipulated by the books and the constitution. I think a word is enough for the wise,” he warned.

[ThisDay]

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