South-East traders under the union of South-East Amalgamated Markets Traders Association have protested high demurrage at ports across the country.
The association has petitioned the National Assembly to intervene as they disclosed that clearing agencies and other authorities have confiscated their goods.
They urged NASS to prevail on the handling agencies to release their consignments that had continued to attract demurrage.
They alleged that their goods worth millions of naira had been seized by “the authorities and handling agencies” at the nation’s ports.
The petition signed by the association president, Chief Gozie Akudolu and Secretary, Alex Okwudiri, said most of their members raised funds through bank loans and overdrafts to import the goods from Asia and Europe.
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They said, “The cargoes and consignments of our members were lying at the facilities of the handling companies at the ports all the period of lockdown while the interest on the loans and overdrafts with which the goods were imported were accumulating with the banks.
“The worst now came with the cargo handling companies that had, over the period, shut down and refused services to our members, now demand demurrage for the consignments”.
