Clearing Agents Decry Rising Demurrage Over Bank Server Outage

Clearing agents astatine the nation’s seaports person voiced beardown concerns implicit escalating demurrage charges caused by an unexpected slope server outage, severely disrupting larboard operations. The method nonaccomplishment has stalled outgo transactions indispensable for cargo clearance, starring to prolonged instrumentality retention and expanding costs for importers and exporters.

Industry insiders study that the bank’s server outage began aboriginal past week and has yet to beryllium afloat resolved. This has caused delays successful processing payments for customs duties, larboard fees, and different charges. As a result, containers stay astatine the larboard longer than scheduled, accumulating hefty demurrage fees that endanger to escalate logistics expenses further.

The clearing agents nether the aegis of the Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON) besides petitioned the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, implicit the persistent strategy downtime. Since September 1, 2025, they accidental it has crippled work payments and inflicted immense fiscal losses connected the trading community.

In a missive signed by its nationalist president, Otunba Frank Ogunojemite, APFFLON argued that freight forwarders had been near stranded and importers plagued by losses of naira successful demurrage and retention charges.

According to APFFLON, the bank’s outgo level has been inaccessible for days, forcing cargoes to heap up astatine ports, disrupting proviso chains, and frustrating efforts to wide shipments connected time.

The radical lamented that contempt repeated complaints lodged astatine some subdivision and determination levels, the affected slope has neither issued an authoritative connection nor provided immoderate contingency program to cushion the effects of the downtime.

“This unfortunate concern has crippled larboard operations, delayed cargo clearance processes, and led to cascading fiscal losses moving into billions of naira successful demurrage and retention charges. The continued soundlessness and inaction successful the look of this nationwide nonaccomplishment of work is profoundly concerning and unacceptable.”

APFFLON urged the curate to motorboat an contiguous enquiry into the basal origin of the prolonged work collapse, compel the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to clasp work postulation banks accountable for work reliability, and prosecute the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) connected alternate outgo channels oregon impermanent waivers for affected importers.

The relation further demanded that the slope beryllium held financially liable for the damages incurred, informing that the concern undermines the national government’s easiness of doing concern docket portion inflicting avoidable symptom connected already struggling Nigerian businesses.

“This is simply a systemic nonaccomplishment that has crippled our manufacture and cannot beryllium overlooked,” Ogunojemite declared, stressing APFFLON’s readiness to proceed supporting authorities commercialized facilitation efforts but insisting that accountability indispensable beryllium enforced.