A combined body of clearing agents and freight forwarders at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos has appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to have another look at the sacked order issued them by the federal government.

The evacuation order is said to pave way for the planned construction of a new cargo terminal at the large expanse of land where the clearing agents currently use as temporary offices.

The union, made up of the Association of Licensed Customs Agents (ANCLA); National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAF) and the National Association of Consolidators and Freight Forwarders (NACFAC), said they played a major role in the supply chain of goods and commodities hence, the need for government to see them as partners in the development of the industry.

Spokespersons for the three unions, Mr Segun Musa and Dada Livinus Agubuzor, at a press briefing said; “We play a major role in determining the market price of commodities in the market, otherwise there will be exorbitant price of commodity if we don’t act as intermediary to exporters and the consumers”.

“We appeal to the president who we believe is a democrat; we also appeal to the conscience of the aviation minister that is like a mother to us to include us in the airport remodelling project because we act as an intermediary between the goods and cargoes entering into the country and its final destination.”

The unions lamented that they were not given any alternative location when the order was handed down to them and noted that the action would affect more than 5, 000 business men and women who are duly registered as practitioners in cargo clearing.

“We have spoken to government on several occasions to allow us build the same structure they are proposing to erect here. All we need is the approval and the specification so that we can meet up with the requirement. Pushing us out of this place will not add any value to the industry since we pay into the coffer of Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) over N4 billion in annual revenue”, they added.

However, an officer of the regional office of the FAAN explained that the order was part of plan to regulate the movement of goods and human traffics in the wake of security challenges faced by the country and to allow for the smooth construction work on the Cargo Village that will commence soon.