A concerned aviation industry stakeholder has thrown weight behind the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria’s (FAAN) newly implemented cargo tariff adjustment, describing the ₦20 per kilogramme port charge as a necessary, long-overdue reform being undermined by misinformation and intimidation from a section of cargo agents in Lagos.
The revised tariff, which took effect on February 2, followed almost 18 years of unchanged pricing, during which FAAN reportedly charged ₦7 per kilogramme for the use of shared airport cargo infrastructure despite rising inflation and steep currency depreciation.
According to the stakeholder, Nigeria’s inflation has climbed by about 287 per cent since 2008, while the naira has weakened from roughly ₦118 to over ₦1,450 to the dollar, drastically increasing the cost of imported security and safety equipment used across airport cargo terminals.
Based on those figures, the stakeholder said a service priced at ₦7 in 2008 should cost about ₦27 today to maintain value. “The new ₦20 charge represents about a 186 per cent adjustment, not the exaggerated figures being circulated, and it still sits below the inflation-adjusted benchmark”, the source stated.
The stakeholder expressed concern that rather than engage constructively, a faction of agents attempted to disrupt operations on the first day of implementation by intimidating compliant colleagues at a major Lagos cargo terminal.
“The target was not FAAN, but fellow agents who were conducting lawful business. That kind of action threatens safety and order in a sensitive aviation environment”, the stakeholder noted, adding that the situation was swiftly contained by FAAN security working with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and has been reported for further action.
The source also dismissed media reports suggesting the Authority had suspended the tariff, describing them as false and misleading, and urged compliant freight forwarders to continue operations, stressing that any policy change would follow due administrative process.
On the issue of consultation, the stakeholder said the Directorate of Cargo Development and Services (DCDS) had held several formal and informal meetings with airlines, ground handlers, terminal operators and licensed agents before implementation, but internal divisions within agent associations complicated consensus.
“There is a difference between consultation and internal union politics. One faction has aligned with the need for reform, while others are locked in power struggles over recognition”, the stakeholder said.
He further argued that it was inconsistent for agents and terminal operators to oppose FAAN’s first review in 18 years when they themselves had repeatedly reviewed their own commercial charges over the same period.
“Would any private business survive today if it still charged customers based on 2008 costs? Yet some expect government infrastructure to remain frozen in time”, the source queried.
The tariff adjustment, the stakeholder said, is intended to fund tangible reforms already underway in the cargo sector, including rehabilitation of domestic cargo warehouses, biometric access systems, new cargo terminal designs for Abuja, road rehabilitation at Lagos cargo terminals, and planned digital systems to reduce congestion and improve security.
Linking the reform to national economic goals, the stakeholder said the federal government’s push for a trillion-dollar economy and the ‘Airport for Exports’ agenda require efficient, secure and modern air cargo infrastructure.
“Without sustainable funding, these reforms will stall, leaving Nigeria with congestion, insecurity and declining competitiveness”, he warned.
The source concluded that the controversy is not really about ₦20 per kilogramme, but about whether Nigeria chooses progress, transparency and global relevance over an unsustainable status quo maintained through distortion and intimidation.