Beyond POF Levy, CRFFN Registrar Champions Financial Subvention for Freight Forwarders, Rues $9billion Capital Flight

By DAPO OLAWUNI

Beyond the collection of Practitioners Operating Fees (POF) by the Council, Mr Kingsley Onyekachi Igwe, Registrar of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) is currently championing the creation of a special subvention for freight forwarders in order to assist in their businesses, even as he lamented that not less than 9billionUSD is being lost as capital flight, due to foreign incursion into the business.

According to him, this special financial subvention would be made available to freight forwarders in form of bonds and loans.

Mr. Igwe who spoke last week Thursday at the Citizens and Stakeholders Engagement Forum organised by the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, stated that the freight forwarding sector contributes not less than 10billionUSD to the GDP Nigeria.

“Service of freight forwarding is capital intensive, it contributes significantly to the GDP of Nigeria, the freight forwarders are the ones that generate the customs duties.

“Freight forwarding presence in Nigeria is not less than 10billionUSD, but it has not been given that significant attention.
I am glad that the Ministry which I am serving under is considering this today.

“On behalf of the freight forwarding community, I want to say that there is need for a financial subvention for freight forwarders in order to help them in their businesses.

“Those that are providing core freight forwarding services, especially the companies providing freight forwarding services in Nigeria are foreign companies, you can count less than three locally owned companies operating at the corporate level.

“Statistics has it that over $9billion go through freight forwarding services as capital flight. When the freight forwarders are provided with these funds, they can buy their own trucks, establish their warehouses or lease, and if they are being given opportunity to operate within a particular logistics hub, they can be able to run their business and make more money for the nation.

“On this ground, I advocate that freight forwarders be given financial subvention that they can access in form of bonds or loans to be able to purchase infrastructure that would enable their business thrive in Nigeria” Igwe stated.

Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Olorunfemi Oloruntola has agreed to work on the proposals put forward by the CRFFN Registrar.

Oloruntola in his response said “We shall provide all the help necessary to make that sector stronger, this is mainly why we are driving the resuscitation of the Council”