Stakeholders decry alleged illegal registration of freight forwarders,, seek minister, CRFFN, others’ intervention

 

 

In its renewed efforts to boost its revenue profile, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has begun the registration of freight forwarders operating at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos.

 

Although the exercise which commenced on March 1, 2025 is said to be free of charge at the moment, rumour has it that FAAN plans to collect as much as Six Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira (N650,000) per licensed company as registration fee, a development which has sparked off anger and frustration among the freight forwarders.

 

However, critics have argued that by this registration, FAAN had gone beyond its mandate and was now stepping into areas outside the Act establishing it.

 

“They don’t have the powers by their enabling Act to do it, the only agency among the Federal Government aviation agencies which has such power is the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA which regulates and registers airlines, crew, airline agents, and others in purely aviation activities” said an agent at Hajj Camp.

 

He added that “CRFFN – Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria is already there and is the only regulatory agency for all freight forwarders while Nigerian Customs Service, NCS registers and licences freight forwarders who desire to be Customs Agents.

 

“Thus, freight forwarding does not belong to Aviation activities per se or related activities. It is rather about the movement of cargo by land, air and sea and comes under CRFFN regulation and registration. The Government agencies that freight forwarders deal with in their activities are the Customs and other Government agencies including Handling agents, NAHCO and SAHCOL involved in the processing of import and export cargo. FAAN is not one of the Government agencies according to its enabling Act.”

 

Another stakeholder who spoke to our correspondent asked, “Suppose an owner of goods comes to clear his cargo himself or with export cargo himself, would FAAN say he should go and register? No!” He explained that FAAN is just a landlord but wants to illegally intimidate and intrude in the business of his tenants.

 

Many other stakeholders who spoke to our correspondent on this matter criticized FAAN for stepping outside its mandate, all in a bid to rake in more revenue especially when it was not rendering any legitimate service to the people it wanted to register and probably regulate.

 

“FAAN is the landlord of the aviation environment and the ground environment. Anybody who wants to play within that environment will come and ask for space to set up his shop and facilities. Its basic mandate is to put up structures like terminals and other common user facilities. Those who have interest to play in that environment will go to them and ask for space with due respect and regard to other people who want to play within the space. Those who are given space pay ground rents and electricity bills become tenants of FAAN. So, what business has FAAN with persons who want to do business with their tenants?

 

“There are some additional services that they can offer to aviation sector within their enabling Act but one power that they do not have is the power to license or register any of the players coming to play in the environment of their tenants. They have no regulatory powers to affect the players coming to the environment of their tenants after granting concessions to such tenants, especially NAHCO and SAHCOL.”

 

“FAAN, from their Act, can offer aviation services but what they did was to concession such powers out to NAHCO and SAHCOL and once they conceded those powers out, what is their business about registering freight forwarding operators? The concessionaires, NAHCO and SAHCOL are paying them concession fees or charges, ground rent for their own constructed facilities, so what is the business of FAAN with customers of their tenants?”, another source queried.

 

Asked to confirm if there’s any payment attached to the ongoing registration exercise, the source said, “Registration is an initial thing, when they are done with that, they will now introduce payment and then, they will come to that Port Charge for which they render no legitimate service and this may rise to something up to N50.00 or N60.00 per kilo which ultimately increases the cost of cargo imports and exports.

 

“The first thing is for FAAN to be authorized by their Act to be involved in cargo processing. They are not permitted by their enabling Act to be involved in cargo processing but they force themself to that through an illegal act of cargo scanning at the cargo sheds.”

 

Others sources who spoke with our correspondent on this matter bemoaned other charges FAAN collects from the operators at the airport without attaching any service to it. Some traced Port Charge to the days of the old Nigeria Airports Authority that commenced the so-called Port Charge that was not provided for in their enabling Act and for no services rendered and FAAN carried it on and for no legitimate service rendered.

 

The freight forwarders wondered why FAAN collects such charges on cargo since it legitimately collects Landing and Parking charges and fees from airlines and these charges are based on factors that include cargo weights on the aircraft.

 

Our correspondent also learnt that the only agency authorized to ask what business an aircraft is being used for is NCAA. So, the freight forwarders insisted that FAAN has no business asking for what an aircraft is being used for through its illegal  collection of Manifests from airlines and billing them again for the same cargo on board it is collecting Landing and Parking charges and still proceed to the Cargo sheds to collect Port Charge.

 

“Their business is just that of landlord but FAAN, they say has become like a landlord who has become an illegal toll collector of various sums in the manner of treble taxation from both his pharmacist tenant, his tenant’s suppliers and customers who have come to do business in the shop of his pharmacist tenant who already has a statutory regulator.”

 

Investigations by our Correspondent reveals that there is something called Passenger Service Charges which is on the tickets for outbound passengers and the proceeds are shared between FAAN and NCAA and this is understandable, being provided by Statutes and with FAAN being provider of baggage handling services, including baggage scanning at Passenger terminals. The question is, are Passenger Terminals same as Cargo sheds? What service is FAAN legitimately rendering at Cargo sheds?

 

Our investigations further reveal that Cargo scanning at the Cargo Sheds is a function of the airline Handling Agents by regulations of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO); FAAN is not a Handling Agent appointed by the airlines.

 

Other cargo aviation observers agree with the freight forwarders and believe that FAAN and its ancestor, NAA  created problem of crowding at the Hajj Terminal and cannot use a dubious registration exercise to cure the problem of crowding.

 

They make the point that Hajj Camp should have made a clean separation of the Cargo Handling sheds from all other activities but by allowing both Handling Sheds, Banks, Airline Cargo Sales offices, Motor Parks, among others to exist within the same Cargo Handling perimeter, FAAN created the problem of crowding which can only be solved through a thorough review of the environment and re-designing it to take care of airside and landside facilities and not by any registration action which is suspect as a revenue-making effort.

 

While bemoaning the effects of increased costs on both the import and export trade of the country since any money charged to the freight forwarder goes on to the owners of the goods, respondents insist that FAAN should exit the shed as it had no legitimate business on cargo processing and had no business with freight forwarders as well.

 

All the respondents unanimously called on the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria, CRFFN, Mr. Kingsley Igwe and the Honourable Minister of Aviation, Mr. Festus Keyamo to step into this matter and call the management of FAAN to order so as not to frustrate the federal government’s efforts in building a friendly business environment and attract investors to the aviation sector of the economy.

 

Responding, the General Manager, Public Affairs, FAAN, Mrs. Ijeoma Nwosu-Igbo admitted that some registration were going on at the cargo terminal adding that the whole essence of the registration was to determine those who do business at the airport.

 

She, however, disclosed that the registration was not specific to the freight forwarders but to all groups doing business at the airport, each registering according to his or her group.

 

Her words, “I think so, I think I have to confirm with the Director of Cargo Services because I know that sometime last month, they put up some banners at the cargo terminals, requesting people to register according to their groups. Not only freight forwarders but I know that some registration has been going on.

 

“Let me tell you, the idea of carrying out that registration is to know who goes into that terminal and what business they do there and it will enable FAAN serve them better. So, I don’t understand the controversy.

 

“I think I have to talk with the Director of Cargo Services and understand. If they had any issues with freight forwarders, it has not been brought to my knowledge. So, I need to clarify that piece of information but I know that some registration exercise has been going on in the airport.

 

“There are different types of registration, find your group and register under your group. It’s not for the freight forwarders alone, it’s for everybody that does business at the Hajj and Cargo terminal. So, I don’t know where the issue is from. Freight Forwarders, their grievance has not been brought to my knowledge. I will first of all make enquiry about what’s going on between the freight forwarders and the Director of Cargo Services because they have not informed me of misunderstanding with the freight forwarders.”

 

Asked why FAAN should undertake to register freight forwarders when it had concession the terminal out to private operators, she said, “It is still our airport and we should have an idea of who does business at the Hajj and Cargo terminal and if you don’t have any form of business there, you should be able to identify yourself to go in and out of that premises. You think we don’t have that right? Who did we concession the terminal out to? We have people doing different kinds of business there, identify with your group, that’s all. We want some order there.”

 

Asked to speak on the alleged registration fee of Six Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira (N650,000) payable to FAAN by each licensed company, she said, “Please I will talk to you when I get to the… I am answering a call and I am driving. I am approaching a check point, please.”

 

When called later in the day for a follow up, she did not respond to calls placed on her cellphone.