The Federal Government has threatened terminal operators not complying with the payment of the Practitioners Operating Fees, POF.
According to a statement by the Director, Press & Public Relations, Eric Ojiekwe, the Minister of Transportation, Mu’azu Sambo, disclosed during his three-day fact-finding tour at Onne Port, Rivers State, to ascertain why the port was not performing at a maximum capacity.
The POF is a fee introduced by the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria. It mandates a consignee to pay the fees on a container before it leaves the port.
The minister warned that such actions by terminal operators would no longer be tolerated.
Sambo expressed the government’s determination to reposition the Onne port to maximize its huge potential in export and import trades.
“Part of the reason why I’m here is to look into why the Rivers ports are not working. Whatever the challenges are, we will address them.
“I will discuss with stakeholders and we will come up with short-term, medium-term, and long-term plans on how to overcome those challenges and make the ports productive,” Sambo said.
