Nigeria’s cargo clearing community has rejected the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, hike in cargo charges.
They described the increase from N7 per kilogram to N20 per kilogram, about 185 per cent, which took effect Monday as excessive, ill-timed and capable of crippling airport cargo business.
Deputy President, Air Logistics, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Dr. Segun Musa in an interview said, the development has triggered fresh tension between freight stakeholders and FAAN warning that the increment is coming without adequate engagement with operators in the cargo chain.
He said stakeholders are resisting the new charges because cargo operations already face layered fees imposed by FAAN, airlines and ground handlers, warning that further hikes could push customers away from air cargo to seaports and land borders.
He argued that FAAN should focus on growing revenue through increased cargo volume rather than what he called business-unfriendly charges on limited traffic.
According to him, the situation is worsened by what he described as a renewed threat by FAAN to evict and demolish the freight community’s secretariat along the airport corridor, a crisis he noted first erupted in July last year when FAAN allegedly cited an internal dispute within one association as grounds to pull down the facility located around the Hajj Camp bus stop axis.
He stressed that the secretariat accommodates about four associations and argued it would be unfair for FAAN to punish multiple groups over a dispute affecting only one, adding that the demolition threat was suspended last year after stakeholders reached an understanding with the authority.
Dr. Musa explained that, the tension resurfaced this year after reports emerged that FAAN intends to implement the steep cargo charge increase without prior consultation, an approach he said felt coercive rather than collaborative.
He added that anxiety deepened after FAAN officials reportedly arrived at the cargo area with security operatives, including police and DSS personnel.
The NAGAFF Deputy President said the associations have requested an emergency meeting with FAAN management to prevent escalation, insisting that any adjustment should be suspended or limited to what they claim is the federal government-approved ceiling of 25 per cent.
Warning that failure to reach a compromise could trigger a wider disruption in airport cargo activities.
