New cargo clearance fee will raise inflation – Shipper

A shipper, Rev. Jonathan Nicole, has decried the increase in exchange rate for cargo clearance from N952 to N1,356 per dollar by the Federal Government.

Nicole disclosed this in an interview with the newsmen on Friday in Lagos.

He said the new exchange rate for cargo clearance would increase inflation.

“There have been a lot of sad stories as regards doing business in our domain – the maritime sector.

“The new exchange rate will increase inflation and businesses will be grossly affected, terminating projections before imports.

“The rate will affect the manufacturing sector and goods and services will increase. Cost of transportation will skyrocket.

“At the end of a transaction, the general public will be made to pay for the failure of our economic policies.

“Unemployment will increase and some companies are shutting down already due to paucity of funds,” he said.

“The success of a country is determined by the management of the commonwealth for all.

“Where the citizens are impoverished, the nation becomes epileptic and this is what is happening at the moment,” he said.

He, however, urged government to ensure fair distribution of the nation’s resources for all and sundry.

Nicole urged shippers to brace up for tougher policies noting that the current exchange rate would not be the last.

“Government is not blind to the sufferings of her citizens.

“We believe sooner than later the untold hardship will be overwhelmed with collective bargaining to prosperity for all,” he said.