The Nigeria Shippers’ Council has moved for the indigenization of freight forwarding practice in Nigeria, which is dominated by foreigners undertaking cargo clearance jobs in the country.
However, stakeholders in the nation’s maritime industry have defer on the plans by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) to indigenize the practice of freight forwarding otherwise known as ‘clearing agency’ from which the country is expected to earn an estimated N100 billion annually.

The freight forwarding business in the nation is said to be losing an estimated N100 billion annually because foreigners, particularly the Lebanese, Indians and Chinese handle an estimated 70 per cent of the cargo clearance jobs in the country.

With the massive loss, the need to indigenize freight forwarding practice in Nigeria, and reserve cargo clearance and delivery within Nigeria to Nigerians has become a topic of interesting debate.

While some practitioners have fully thrown their weight behind the plan to indigenize freight forwarding in the country, a few others want the status quo to continue in order to avoid a possible backlash.

Recently, the Director of Commercial Shipping Services of the Nigeria Shippers’ Council (NSC) Mrs. Dabney Shall Holma told visiting members of the Customs Consultative Council that plans have commenced towards indigenization of freight forwarding in the Nigeria. This is part of the ‘new port order’ agenda, she said.

According to her, the Shippers’ Council is already working along that line, saying, “We cannot rely on the multinationals to build capacity, because they will not do it, they will continue to hire and fire; But I can tell you that the Nigeria Shippers’ Council has identified that factor and we are saying that nobody should do freight forwarding except he is a Nigerian.”

Former chairman, Tin Can chapter of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents, ANLCA, Kayode Farinto, said indigenization of customs brokerage is long overdue, but it is not the duty of the Shippers Council.

He added that it is the responsibility of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria to implement by bringing out an Executive Bill which will be passed into law.