2021 Budget: CRFFN To Spend N2.9Billion On Projects

…As Ex-Chairman, Hakeem Olanrewaju Kicks, Says Budget Over-Bloated

By DAPO OLAWUNI

Immediate past Chairman governing Council of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) Aare Hakeem Olanrewaju has advocated the need to cut down the over-bloated yearly budgetary allocations to the CRFFN by the Federal Government.

This is even as extracts from the CRFFN 2021 Budget Appropriation has revealed that the Council would be spending N2,940, 265,077:00 on projects alone, excluding of concurrent budgets, salaries, office administrations and so on.

The council is expected to spend N250million on Insurance Premiums, construction of Nigerian Institute of Freight Forwarding and Rehabilitation of Lagos Office building for N720million.

Other projects to gulp huge sums are; development and construction of headquarters office complex at N1.1billion, automation and collection of Practitioners Operating Fee with NN40million among others

(See full list below)

In a signed statement made available to DAILY TREND NEWS, Olanrewaju alleged that Federal Government is massively corrupting the leadership of the freight forwarders in a subtle manner, through over-inflated project contracts and “Elephant Projects”

He revealed that the government had kickstarted the administrative life of the CRFFN between the year 2008 to 2012 with N250m.

“Out of this approximated amount; staffs were recruited and salaries promptly paid, official vehicles were purchased, capacity buildings programs were conducted, membership with FIATA formalized, office structures were rented across the zones, and operation head offices rented in Lagos and Abuja, International Professional exchange programs attended and so on ”

“Experiences has shown that administering a professional Council of our size was never a rocket science in terms of massive and over bloated yearly budgetary, as presently obtains”

“As a professional Regulatory Council and from what is obtainable else where amongst the comity of freight forwarding nation’s, we do not really need all this gigantic edifices ( tagged headquarters & zonal administrative offices and institutes ) being put in place”

“What governs a professional Council is the principle of discipline, transparency, moderation and prudency especially when it comes to financial management, and not the spirit of negligence, squandering and recklessness” he said

Olanrewaju revealed that presently, the CRFFN yearly budgetary is way far above that of FIATA yearly budget.

Because of the money being pumped into the council, he said practitioners now find it much rewarding and most profitable to do everything humanly possible to get elected into the Governing Council rather than face its Professional Practices.

“This growing trends is dangerous and a professional albatross has to be stopped”

“In my mind this is rather a deliberate professional distraction caused by the government. What happens when another government comes to power and discovers that, this present trending of setting up edifices which in the future cannot be sustsinable, for a prudent professional Practitioners whose activities are service related is a mere waste of public fund?”

“This deliberate dubbing our legitimate Professional Council as a quango Professional Council by Government operatives has to stop”

“Idealy in a viable and competitive freight forwarding Profession, most of the said ongoing projects are actually projects that the Practitioners through visionary leadership of the CRFFN can easily attract through international donations via our international participation in the global freight forwarding advancement programs and empowerment schemes”

“In the local front, with an ideal financial administration, this said projects are achievable subject to Professional administrative planning, budgeting and execution via visionary leadership”

“As a professional Council, we are supposedly careful and conscious to budget and expense in likely equation and correspondence with our yearly income via yearly subscriptions, enforcement of regulatory sanctions, sales of professional publications, Professional levies, donations , corporate brand materials, etc?.

“It is disheartening to note that, 12 years after the registration of the CRFFN with the umbrella body, the FIATA, what we can point to the International body , who had conclude a trained the trainer program, followed by the accreditation of Professional training institutions across the geo Political Zones of the Nation, is an endless ongoing projects of the CRFFN”

0229006001 COUNCIL FOR THE REGULATION OF FREIGHT FORWARDING IN NIGERIA.

CODE PROJECT NAME TYPE AMOUNT =N=

ERGP22112633 INSURANCE PREMIUM ONGOING 250,000,000

ERGP27112619 CONSTRUCTION OF NIGERIAN INSTITUE OF FREIGHT FORWARDING
REHABILITATION OF LAGOS OFFICE BUILDING ONGOING 720,000,000:00.

ERGP27112653 CONSTRUCTION OF OUTPOST OFFICES ACROSS THE BORDER STATION IN THE
COUNTRY ONGOING 50,000,000;00.

ERGP27134169 DEVELOPMENT AND CONSTRUCTION OF HEADQUARTERS OFFICE COMPLEX ONGOING 1,013,670,259:00.

ERGP27139504 DESIGNS OF THE SIX ZONAL OFFICES IN THE SIX GEOPOLITICAL ZONES ONGOING 50,000,000:00.

ERGP29112648 AUTOMATION OF THE COUNCIL OPERATIONAL AND REVENUE COLLECTION
TSA SYSTEM INCLUDING SOFTWARE ONGOING 40,000,000:00.

ERGP30134185 SUBSCRIPTION TO INTERNATIONAL BODIES, FIATA & TIACA ONGOING 40,000,000:00.

ERGP30134190 DEVELOPMENT OF SIX ZONAL OFFICES IN THE SIX GEOPOLITCAL ZONES ONGOING 356,594,818:00.

ERGP78712460
0
CAPACITY BUILDING FOFR FREIGHT FORWARDERS ON IMPROVING
NIGERIA’S COMPETITIVENESS THROUGH LOGISTICS PROGRAMME INDEX NEW 150,000,000;00.

ERGP78712460
1
MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF COUNCIL’S CAPITAL PROJECTS NEW 120,000,000:00.

ERGP78712460
2
EVALUATION OF COUNCIL’S OPERATIONS BY THE
GOVERNING BOARD AND ITS MEETINGS NEW 100,000,000:00..

ERGP78712460
3
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY NEW 50,000,000:00.
TOTAL = #2,940, 265,077:00.