Daily Independent Online.
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Monday, July 26, 2004.
Courier operators dare FAAN
•Threaten to go to court
By Emma Okonji
Business Reporter, Lagos
Determined to fight the battle to the finish, the
Association of Nigerian Courier Operators (ANCO) has concluded plans to go to
court to challenge the powers of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria
(FAAN) in its attempt to ground courier activities at the airports.
Chairman, Board of Trustees of ANCO, Mr. Larry
Chinekezi, who doubles as the Chief Executive of Tradeways Express, disclosed
this in an interview with Daily Independent recently.
According to him, “enough is enough, we are
sick of multiple charges from the authority of FAAN and this has to
stop.”
Chinekezi, who bared the minds of other operators,
said ANCO believes in justice and cannot afford to take laws into its hands,
hence its decision to challenge FAAN in court.
“We have already briefed our lawyer and he is
processing the documents,” Chinekezi said, assuring that before the end
of the week, they wouldl be in court to challenge FAAN. He added that they have
informed the Courier Regulatory Department (CRD), the body recognised as the
only regulator with jurisdiction to impose levies on courier operators, and
that they have equally alerted the public through a press statement. He
insisted that the courier operators have done all they could and are
battle-ready. Chinekezi, who
frowned at the levies, said they are not only multiple charges, but also
illegal. According to him, courier operators pay levies to the CRD and
FAAN’s agencies with whom they transact business, saying they have no
business with FAAN, as they do not use its facilities. He urged his members to
resist levies imposed directly by FAAN.
“We pay N7 for each kilogramme of parcel,
brought into the country, to the National Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO), a
subsidiary of FAAN, because we transact business with it and the facilities
with which we transact business belong to it,” Chinekezi said, adding
that they equally pay seven per cent port surcharge on the total assessment of
each parcel they clear.
It was also gathered that the courier operators pay
to Skypower Aviation Handling Company Limited (SAHCOL), another subsidiary of
FAAN, for its facilities, such as the courier sheds and others, which the operators use. Customs duties, he
added, are also paid, asking rhetorically: “What does FAAN want from us,
after paying all these levies.”
FAAN has threatened Courier operators in letter dated
June 22 and signed by Nevo U. P. saying that all Courier operators must
purchase FAAN Stickers and register their companies for the year 2004.
According to the warning letter, Courier companies without proof of
registration and renewal permit would not be allowed to operate in the terminal
with effect from July 1, 2004.
FAAN puts it registration fees at N250, 000, and a
yearly renewal fee at N100, 000.
