THE Executive Director, Talod Oceanair Freight Limited, Mr. Odu Olawale, has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry to intervene in the shipping industry.
Olawale, who made this known in a statement made available to our correspondent on Monday, pointed out that some players in the industry were discriminating against certain banks, a situation he said could affect the fortunes of the sector.
According to him, if the act of underrating a bank against another does not stop, efforts by the CBN to revitalise the banking sector may not be fruitful.
He said, “Shipping agents/consignees pay charges with bank cheques (drafts) issued by their respective banks and paid directly into the transacting partner account.
“But a recent directive from some of the players has stopped this practice and they now force it on agents to compulsorily procure such drafts from specific banks irrespective of whether such agents maintain an account with the banks or not.
“The implication of this is that the effort of the CBN in promoting good, healthy and ethical banking in Nigeria aimed at sanitising the banking sector is not only rubbished but also portrays other banks as weak and undependable in the financial market, thereby gaining undue advantages for their own selected banks.”
He advised that regulatory agencies’ intervention was necessary to guarantee safety of the shipping and financial subsectors of the economy.
Olawale said, “This, we believe, is wrong, illegal and unethical. It must be stopped before it destroys all the gains already made in the banking sector over the years by the CBN.
“We, therefore, implore the regulatory agencies to intervene in this before the agents take their destinies into their hands, which could be dangerous for the industries.”
September 3, 2013 by Sodiq Oyeleke
http://www.punchng.com/business/money/cbn-intervention-wanted-in-shipping-services/
Written by NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE
Sodiq Oyeleke is a Media, Human Resources, Project Management and Public Relations Practitioner
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