Nigeria Risks Eviction from Global Freight Forwarders Body; FIATA

.. As NAGAFF Founder Fights Against Leadership Imposition in CRFFN

By DAPO OLAWUNI

The controversy trailing the status of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) could see Nigeria being kicked out of the International Federation of Freight Forwarding Associations (FIATA)

FIATA is a non-governmental membership-based organization representing freight forwarders and logistics providers in over 150 countries. Nigeria is equally a member through representation by the CRFFN.

Membership according to the FIATA Art 4 is only possible if all the members of the international organisation are associations, which in turn are Association members of FIATA.

However, the CRFFN which represents Nigeria in the FIATA is a currently a Federal Government Agency which negates the provisions of FIATA which states that, countries can only be represented by; Associations, Groups, Individual, or Honorary Members.

Speaking exclusively with DAILY TREND in Lagos last week, Founder of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) Dr Boniface Aniebonam stated that Nigeria could be delisted from the FIATA if a formal complaints is lodged by the freight forwarders.

He said “FIATA is a federation of freight forwarders associations coming together to approach the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to register a freight forwarding association which would go to FIATA to represent Nigeria, our seat is still vacant there because CRFFN under court declaration is an agency of the government, therefore they cannot be there, all the lies have been told and for now they still there.

“Tomorrow, if anyone picks up a pen and alerts FIATA, Nigeria would be struck out” he said

Dr Aniebonam has also kicked against the recent imposition of Chairman and Vice Chairman of the CRFFN Governing Board by the former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.

After the inauguration of the board members in Abuja recently, indications emerged that the Minister approved the former Chairman of CRFFN, Alhaji Tsanni Abubakar and his Vice Chairman, Henry Njoku to continue in office.

Some members of the board defended the Minister, especially a prominent NAGAFF member, Alhaji Tanko Ibrahim, saying that there was no imposition. He said what happened was a voiced vote.

But speaking, the NAGAFF Founder said “There is nothing like voice votes in CRFFN procedures, so they are doing the wrong thing. Status Quo Ante Bellum cannot be maintained because there are new members who just came into the council, it doesn’t make sense.

“Government is having grip on the council, you can see the imposition of leadership of the council, there is no portion of the CRFFN that talks of voice votes. The Act says that the Chairman of the council must be an elected member from the register of freight forwarders, but we are not following that, so we would continue to derail” he said

Aniebonam argued that CRFFN is completely derailed from it’s original concept, adding that it was not designed to be a government agency, but today they have made it to become one.

He argued that the council has not added one value to the object clause of professionalizing freight forwarding and logistics business in the country.

“The actions of the transportation ministry has separated us more than bringing us together, the basic and primary objective of CRFFN is to bring all the contending voices together, but today, the recent election has separated us

“The National Council of Managing Director of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA) National Association of Freight Forwarders and Cargo Consolidators (NAFFAC) today is out of the Council because they could not win election, so nobody is representing them in the Council.

“So, out of five, only three are remaining, what do you think might be their feeling? How would their members be protected in policy formulation?

“The 6.6.1.1.1 sharing formula was NAGAFF’s idea, we didn’t want to pick all the positions, but since they said they don’t want it, we moved in and swept nine seats on the board” he said

Aniebonam who is also the founder of a registered political party in Nigeria has expressed strong hopes that when his registered political party; New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) comes into power, most of the negative narratives in CRFFN would be changed.

“Politics is all about interest, we operate in the ports and we are involved in public policy advocacy as to issue of increasing productivity in the port functions.

“Therefore, it is always better to bite from inside than from outside.
If we are inside, we may be able to block some if the shinanigans going on inside the Council”

“If CRFFN works, any matter coming up from the ports can be resolved there, all agencies of government are represented on the board” he said