Nigerian e-commerce firms are currently battling restricted movement and harassment by security operatives despite being seen as essential services renderers by the government.
According to PunchNG, major companies in the sector, like Jumia and Konga, are presently facing up to 6 days delay in the delivery of essential goods to buyers, as opposed to the 24 hours that customers were previously used to. The company added that employees, who are essential service providers, have also experienced troubles like harassment by security operatives while doing their jobs.
One of the affected companies had this to say, “In fact, we have seen a situation where delivery is constantly being hampered by the harassment of our riders, vendors and delivery men on a daily basis. This happens to both intra-state and inter-state deliveries. As a result, deliveries that should take 24 hours due to the absence of traffic on the roads now stretch for days or don’t even happen at all in some cases.”
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Another company added, “We are taking huge losses in meeting the commitments to our customers, many of whom rely on us for essential deliveries. Our merchants, who we also rely on in meeting the numerous online orders, cannot open their shops due to the lockdown. These merchants are individuals who have all been trained in essential safety procedures such as wearing masks, gloves and social distancing and, as such, pose little infection risk. “In addition, we have to endure undue delays in the course of reaching the customers. For instance, a truck making essential intra-state deliveries is often delayed for a minimum of six days, thereby causing huge pains to the company and consumers.”
