Clearing agents yesterday staged a peaceful protest at the ports in Lagos for several hours in protest against the planned collection of Practitioners Operating Fees, POF by the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA on the orders of the the minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.
 |
| Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi |
The agents who stormed both Tin-can Island and Apapa ports yesterday carrying placards and singing solidarity songs, visited the office of the General Manager in charge of Western Ports of the NPA, R. I. Gbadamosi, and representatives of Seaport Terminal Operators Association, STOA, to present them with a copy of a court order stopping the collection of the fee.
They noted that the planned collection is illegal since the matter is before the court of law.
President of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents, ANLCA, Olayewola Shittu, said that they are surprised that the minister through the NPA is attempting to go ahead with the collection.
Shittu said all they are waiting for is for the clearing documents to show the collection which they can use as proof at the law court.
Gbadamosi in an interview in Lagos said that though the court proceedings were presented to him for onward presentation to the appropriate authority, they still have a ministerial directive.
The General Manager however said that he cannot say whether the Authority would be going ahead with the collection or not.
When contacted Mike Igbokwa, SAN, on his part noted that though he is aware of the matter and he has opinion to express on the issue, he could not since the case is in court.
No comments:
Post a Comment