NAGAFF Denies Calling for Hassan Bello’s Sack, Throws Chapter Executive Under the Bus
By DAPO OLAWUNI
The National Executive Committee of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has distanced itself from a recent letter purportedly written by one of its executives at the Tin Can Island Chapter, Godfrey Chiemeka Nwosu, who had demanded the sack of Executive Secretary of Nigerian Shippers Council, Barr Hassan Bello.
NAGAFF in a disclaimer issued yesterday and sent to the Secretary General of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha said the Tin Can Chapter official does not have the approval of the Association to write such a petition.
The association said that Mr Nwosu who is the Secretary General of his chapter does not have the intellectual capability or the sufficient ICT knowledge to put together such a document, adding that the man was being sponsored to blackmail the Shippers Council boss.
The disclaimer signed by the National President of NAGAFF, Mr Increase Uche noted that Barr. Hassan Bello is a reformer and an achiever, and that his recent turnaround of the maritime sector led to a running battle with some service providers on matters of arbitrariness, unapproved charges and shipping container deposit refunds which Bello is kicking against.
Suffices to say that the letter written by the NAGAFF Tin Can Chapter official was written to the SGF, boss Mustapha.
Increase Uche in the disclaimer said “The attention of the National Executive Committee of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has been drawn to a letter with the above heading sent to your office by one Godfrey Chiemeka Nwosu supposedly on behalf of a Chapter of our Association. We are in no way connected to this letter and state categorically that this letter did not have the approval of the Association”
“In our Association we have a strict code of conduct for our officers when it comes to matters of communication to the Government and we do not condone it when any individual in any Chapter has any grouse or indeed any praise to any government policy or act, it passes through a procedure that ends with such an action being taken only by the headquarters of the Assocuation. This said letter under reference did not follow this procedure so we assert that it did not represent the true position of our Association with respect to the leadership of Nigeria Shippers’ Council by Barr. Hassan Bello”
“All the lies and falsehoods canvassed in the said letter under reference are actually the very opposite of what Barr. Hassan Bello represents in the maritime industry “
“Our position is that this letter was written for Mr. Godfrey Emeka Nwosu by his sponsors who saw him as a willing tool to be used for this blackmail maybe for a fee”
“The Godfrey Nwosu that we know may not have the intellectual capability to put together such a document. When one begins to see someone who may not have sufhcient ICT knowledge begins to talk about references to websites and all that, we must begin to be suspicious that the hand behind all these is somewhere else”
“This is a crude and wicked blackmail of the highest order”
“We in NAGAFF believe so much in Barr. Hassan’s hardwork and complete knowledge of the maritime sector of the economy that we actually advocated that he will be a lit and proper person to head the Ministry of Transportation”
“By this letter we wish to reiterate our unflinching support for Barr. Hassan Bello, the ES of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council. NAGAFF cannot be a party to any attempt to smear his audited reputation and the admiration he has earned from the numerous stakeholders through his hardworks and knowledge of the industry”
