Clearing agents under the aegis of the Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON) have written to the Minister of Finance, lamenting that persistent downtime at a commercial bank is disrupting duty payments and causing massive demurrage losses at the seaports.

In the letter dated 5th of September, which was signed by APFFLON President, Otunba Frank Ogunojemite, an unfortunate situation has crippled port operations, delayed cargo clearance processes, and led to cascading financial losses at seaports running into billions of naira in demurrage and storage charges.

According to the APFFLON letter, “I write to you on behalf of the Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON) to urgently express our deep concern over the persistent system downtime experienced by a commercial bank, which has severely affected the ability of freight forwarders to process and pay Customs duties since September 1st, 2025.

“This unfortunate situation has crippled port operations, delayed cargo clearance processes, and led to cascading financial losses running into billions of naira in demurrage and storage charges. Many of our members, and indeed the broader trading public, have been unable to access the bank’s payment platform, resulting in involuntary accumulation of charges, missed shipment deadlines, and disruption of supply chains.

“Despite repeated complaints lodged at the branch and regional levels, there has been no official communication, redress, or contingency plan offered by the bank to mitigate the damages. The continued silence and inaction in the face of this nationwide failure of service is deeply concerning and unacceptable.

“We respectfully call on your esteemed office to: Launch an immediate inquiry into the root cause of the prolonged system failure by First Bank of Nigeria; Direct the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ensure all designated duty collection banks are held accountable for service uptime, reliability, and responsiveness; Facilitate engagement with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to explore alternative payment channels or temporary waivers to reduce the burden of demurrage on affected importers; and hold the bank financially liable for the economic damages incurred by businesses as a result of their failure to provide critical services.

“The current situation not only undermines the Federal Government’s ease of doing business initiative but also inflicts avoidable pain on Nigerian businesses trying to remain afloat in a difficult economic environment.

“We urge your swift and decisive intervention in this matter. APFFLON remains committed to supporting government efforts in trade facilitation, but we cannot overlook systemic failures that cripple our industry.

“We thank you in anticipation of your urgent response and action.” (Saturday Tribune)