Economy
Customs Agents Allege Arbitrary Increase in Haulage Fare at Onne Port
By Bon Peters
There has been palpable tension at Onne Port in Rivers State over what the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Eastern Zone, described as an alleged arbitrary increase in haulage fare by the transport unions, maritime flat and cargo and freight forwarding transport, in connivance with the Nigeria Shippers Council (NSC).
Our correspondent reports that trouble started last week following an arbitrary increase in transport fare at Onne to about 200 per cent, according to ANLCA.
In an exclusive interview with our correspondent on the sidelines of an emergency meeting at Onne, Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, the Zonal coordinator of ANLCA Eastern Zone, Mr Joshua Ahuama, said, “The recent attempt by the truckers’ association to increase transport rate by more than 200 per cent is mostly unjust, unwarranted and inhibitive to trade. Hence, the freight forwarders’ leadership’s interface with the NSC.”
Mr Ahuama regretted that after all valid arguments have been made on the matter, the South-South Zonal Director of NSC, Mr Glory Onojedo, felt compelled, and put a call across to the truckers’ association, directing them to suspend the implementation of the new rate, pending the conclusion of all necessary deliberations on the matter.
He said his association was piqued at the behaviour of the transport unions who, according to him, walked out of a meeting among ANLCA, NSC and the transport unions chatting solidarity songs, vowing to stand on their mandate.
Mr Ahuama insisted that the freight forwarders’ leadership requested that the council to put its instruction and directive to the truckers in writing to allow for concrete evidence and ease of reference.
According to him, the truckers’ union have refused to revert to the old rate but rather had gone ahead to implement the new price regime even to the extent of locking up some trucks that have refused to increase their fares.
He wondered why the increment at this time, when the roads have improved due to the various construction and rehabilitation works going on in the South-South and South East.
Recall that in May 2022, the two transport unions, maritime flat and cargo and freight forwarding transport unions clashed over what those in the Maritime industry described as an unwarranted and astronomical increase in transport fare of containers from the port to their destinations and who controls the park.
The development resulted in a free-for-all and damage beyond repair of two vehicles, a Toyota Sienna car and a Mitsubishi bus, belonging to the two unions, including their office, a 40-foot container which an eyewitness say was lifted with bare hands and turned upside down by the warring factions.
The incident resulted in the loss of billions of naira to the federal government and maritime business stakeholders until the intervention of the Nigerian Shippers council and other relevant authorities.
But in this case, the freight forwarders said they perceived an alleged unholy union between the transporters, the and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to extort the freight forwarders and the shipping companies.
“The refusal of the Nigerian Shippers Council to put their directive in writing is strong evidence and indictment against them, and only indicates that they are in cahoots with the truckers to extort agents.
“This is quite disheartening, considering that a council that should model transparency and help in facilitating trade has made itself a cheap tool for manipulation and treachery, for the shameful reason of undue financial benefit,” Mr Ahuama said.
“We are insisting that due process must be followed towards arriving at what’s fair to all concerned. All necessary parties must be consulted and considered. Only then can a fair rate be actualised,” he added, warning that “we are also putting all relevant authorities and interested parties on notice that if the shippers council fails to put their directive in writing, and ensure that status quo remains within a reasonable time, that we the agents are going to engage the services of other transport companies who are not members of their unions, and will resist any attempt of any form from them to prevent other non-union trucks/drivers to load out cargo from the port.”
He also said this group would “prevent them from having access to the port by upholding the position of the law as regards haulage in the port and may withdraw our services if the NPA does not wade in and exercise their authority on this issue.”
According to him, the ripple effects of these will geometrically hike the prices of goods in the market in an already tensed situation in the country.
As at the time of filling this report, every attempt to reach the two transport unions leaders proved abortive as their phone numbers continued to say you are not allowed to call these numbers.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Food Concepts Plc neutralized the gains recorded by three securities, returning the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange into the negative territory with a 0.27 per cent loss on Thursday, December 4.
Yesterday, the share price of the parent company of Chicken Republic and PieXpress declined by 34 Kobo to sell at N3.15 per unit compared with the previous day’s N3.49 per unit.
This shrank the market capitalisation of the OTC bourse by N5.72 billion to N2.136 billion from N2.142 trillion and weakened the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 9.57 points to 3,571.53 points from 3,581.10 points.
Business Post reports that Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by 50 Kobo to N38.50 per share from N38.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained 29 Kobo to sell at N55.79 per unit versus N55.50 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc added 5 Kobo to close at N4.60 per share compared with Wednesday’s closing price of N4.55 per share.
Trading data indicated that the volume of securities recorded at the session surged by 6,885.3 per cent to 4.3 million units from the 61,570 units posted a day earlier, the value of securities increased by 10,301.7 per cent to N947.2 million from N3.3 million, and the number of deals went up by 146.7 per cent to 37 deals from the 15 deals achieved in the previous trading session.
At the close of business, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 5.8 billion units for N16.4 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 170.4 million units worth N8.0 billion, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.5 million units valued at N4.2 billion.
InfraCredit Plc also finished the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units transacted for N16.4 billion, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.2 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units traded for N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The upward trend witnessed at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in recent sessions continued on Thursday as it further improved by 0.10 per cent.
This was despite investor sentiment turning bearish after the local equity market ended with 23 price gainers and 28 price gainers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
UAC Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to finish at N88.00, Morison Industries appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N3.54, Ecobank rose by 8.53 per cent to N36.90, and Coronation Insurance grew by 8.47 per cent to N2.56.
On the flip side, Ellah Lakes depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N13.14, Eunisell Nigeria also shed 10.00 per cent to finish at N72.90, Transcorp Hotels slipped by 9.95 per cent to N157.50, Omatek shrank by 9.23 per cent to N1.18, and Guinea Insurance dipped by 8.46 per cent to N1.19.
Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 152.28 points to 145,476.15 points from 145,323.87 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N97 billion to finish at N92.726 trillion compared with the previous day’s N92.629 trillion.
Customs Street was bubbling with activities on Thursday, though the trading volume and value slightly went down, according to data.
A total of 1.9 billion stocks worth N19.2 billion exchanged hands in 23,369 deals during the session versus the N2.3 billion valued at N21.0 billion traded in 21,513 deals a day earlier.
This showed that the number of deals increased by 8.63 per cent, the volume of transactions depleted by 17.39 per cent, and the value of trades decreased by 8.57 per cent.
For another trading day, eTranzact led the activity chart with 1.6 billion units sold for N6.4 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 31.0 million units worth N589.3 million, GTCO exchanged 28.3 million units valued at N2.5 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 27.1 million units for N1.6 billion, and Ecobank traded 21.9 million units worth N744.3 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira marginally depreciated against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday, December 4 amid renewed forex pressure associated with December.
At the official market yesterday, the Nigerian currency lost 0.01 per cent or 18 Kobo against the Dollar to close at N1,447.83/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,447.65/$1.
It was not a different scenario with the local currency in the same market segment against the Pound Sterling as it further shed N15.43 to sell for N1,930.97/£1 versus Wednesday’s closing price of N1,925.08/£1 and declined against the Euro by 20 Kobo to finish at N1,688.74/€1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,688.54/€1.
Similarly, the Nigerian Naira lost N5 against the greenback in the black market to quote at N1,465/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,460/$1 but closed flat against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter at N1,453/$1.
Fluctuations in trading range is expected to continue during the festive season as traders expect the Nigerian currency to be stable, supported by intervention s by to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)in the face of steady dollar demand.
Support is also expected in coming weeks as seasonal activities, particularly the stylised “Detty December” festivities, will see inflows that will give the Naira a boost after it depreciated mildly last month, according to a new report.
“As the festive Detty December season intensifies, inbound travel, tourism spending, and diaspora inflows are expected to provide moderate support for FX liquidity,” analysts at the research unit of FMDA said in its latest monthly report for November.
Traders cited by Reuters expect that the Naira will trade within a band of N1,443-N1,450 next week, buoyed by improved FX interventions by the apex bank.
Meanwhile, the crypto market was down as the US Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, core PCE, likely rose in September—moving in the wrong direction. However, volatility indices show no signs of major turbulence.
If the actual figure matches estimates, it would mark 55 straight months of inflation above the US central bank’s 2 per cent target. The sticky inflation would strengthen the hawkish policymakers, who are in favour of slower rate cuts.
Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 4.5 per cent to $2.08, Solana (SOL) went down by 3.8 per cent to $138.11, Litecoin (LTC) shrank by 3.1 per cent to $83.23, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 2.5 per cent to $0.1463, Cardano (ADA) declined by 2.1 per cent to $0.4368, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 0.9 per cent to $91,975.45, Binance Coin (BNB) crumbled by 0.9 per cent to $899.41, and Ethereum (ETH) dropped by 0.7 per cent to $3,156.44, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 apiece.
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