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
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its stay in the south territory with a decline of 0.56 per cent on Wednesday, April 2.
This brought down the market capitalisation by N13 billion to N2.417 trillion from N2.430 trillion, and downed the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 22.57 points to 4,062.87 points from the previous session’s 4,062.87 points.
It was observed that the NASD exchange ended with three price gainers and three price losers during the trading day.
MRS Oil Plc depreciated by N19.00 to close at N171.00 per unit compared with the previous price of N190.00 per unit, NASD Plc lost N4.14 to trade at N37.36 per share compared with Wednesday’s N41.50 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gave up N2.00 to sell at N78.00 per unit versus N80.00 per unit.
On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by 19 Kobo to N93.00 per share from N92.81 per share, Food Concepts Plc expanded by 15 Kobo to N2.87 per unit from N2.72 per unit, and Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc improved by 2 Kobo to 52 Kobo per share from 50 Kobo per share.
Yesterday, the volume of securities dipped by 91.8 per cent to 260.2 million units from 3.2 billion units, the value of securities went down by 98.1 per cent to N154.2 million from N8.3 billion, while the number of deals soared by 53.3 per cent to 46 deals from 30 deals.
GNI Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 56.9 million units valued at N3.9 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.5 million units traded for N1.8 billion.
The most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was also GNI Plc with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.2 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira dropped N2.09 or 0.15 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, April 2, to trade at N1,380.79/$1 compared with Wednesday’s rate of N1,378.70/$1.
However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N2.77 to quote at N1,824.86/£1 versus the N1,836.57/£1 it was traded at midweek, and improved its value against the Euro by N10.54 to N1,591.92/€1 from N1,602.46/€1.
Yesterday was the last trading session of the week for the local currency in the spot market, as the market will be closed on Friday and Monday for the Easter Holiday.
At the black market, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the greenback yesterday at N1,405/$1, but gained N8 at the GTBank FX counter to settle at N1,388/$1, in contrast to the previous session’s N1,396/$1.
Pressure eased on the domestic currency as strong policy indicators have helped calm the majority of worries within the financial systems. Particularly in the remittance segment, the apex bank has directed all International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) to route remittance transactions through designated Naira settlement accounts in banks, a move aimed at boosting transparency and channelling more foreign exchange into the formal market.
This helps take off pressure from the foreign reserves, which have fallen below the $50 billion mark as they are gradually decreasing rather than falling sharply.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Thursday, as macro sentiment shifted against recent optimism after reports that Iran is drafting a protocol with Oman to manage traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns about disruptions to a key global oil route.
The remarks came after U.S. President Trump on Wednesday night vowed to hit Iran “extremely hard” in the coming weeks and that the Strait of Hormuz would “open naturally” once the war ends.
Cardano (ADA) chalked up 1.9 per cent to trade at $0.2435, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 1.2 per cent to $0.0912, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 0.8 per cent to $2,066.37, Bitcoin (BTC) added 0.5 per cent to sell at $67,080.53, Solana (SOL) increased by 0.5 per cent to $79.91, and Ripple (XRP) jumped 0.2 per cent to $1.31.
Conversely, Binance Coin (BNB) dipped 0.7 per cent to $586.90, and TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.3 per cent to $0.3147, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
The local stock market was relatively flat on Friday, as the bears and the bulls shared the spoils of war, though investor sentiment turned bullish compared with the preceding session’s bearish posture.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that the All-Share Index (ASI) was marginally down by 4.66 points as it ended at 201,698.89 points versus Wednesday’s 201,703.55 points, and the market capitalisation slightly contracted by N3 billion to N129.806 trillion from N129.809 trillion.
Customs Street was shut on Friday because of the public holidays declared by the federal government today and next Monday.
Business Post reports that John Holt declined by 9.91 per cent to N15.45, Abbey Mortgage Bank shed 9.60 per cent to trade at N8.95, International Energy Insurance slipped by 6.48 per cent to N3.32, Chams shrank by 5.30 per cent to N3.75, and Tantalizers depreciated by 5.18 per cent to N4.03.
On the flip side, Unilever Nigeria improved by 10.00 per cent to N103.40, Fortis Global Insurance gained 9.82 per cent to trade at N1.23, Multiverse appreciated 9.81 per cent to N20.15, Legend Internet advanced by 9.38 per cent to N6.30, and Zichis grew by 9.02 per cent to N14.14.
The market breadth index was positive during the trading session, as there were 35 appreciating stocks and 24 depreciating stocks.
Yesterday, investors traded 560.0 million equities valued at N19.3 billion in 49,676 deals, in contrast to the 815.5 million equities worth N33.3 billion transacted in 52,641 deals in the preceding day, representing a drop in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 31.33 per cent, 42.04 per cent, and 5.63 per cent, respectively.
Secure Electronic Technology dominated the activity log with 59.7 million shares valued at N61.1 million, Wema Bank exchanged 52.0 million equities worth N1.4 billion, VFD Group transacted 36.0 million stocks for N410.5 million, Access Holdings sold 35.3 million shares valued at N914.8 million, and Chams traded 31.0 million equities worth N115.0 million.
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