Contrary to the media reports that the Nigerian Shippers’ Council has been mandated to re-organize the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), the Registrar of CRFFN, Sir Mike Jukwe has denied any knowledge of such mandate given to anybody or agency by the Minister of Transport.
Jukwe who was speaking to Primetime Reporters in a telephone interview stated that there was no such mandate and that if there is any such mandate, it would be incumbent on the officials of CRFFN to let it out and not the other way round.
“I don’t know where all these things comes from. If the Honourable Minister has done that, I am not aware. I think you can verify from his media people. If there is anything in the offing, people should wait. If there is official statement, it will be made by the authorities and not by all these people saying this and that. The official authority has not said anything like that. So me, I am not aware”, he said.
He however said that if the Shippers’ Council has come to say that there was a mistake in the first election into the governing council of the CRFFN and that there was the need to correct the perceive mistake, such move should not be mistaken to mean that they have been mandated to re-organize CRFFN.
The Registrar disclosed that the management of CRFFN was not interested in conducting the election into the governing council to avoid giving the impression that it was in favour of one particular association or individual as against the other which was what obtained in the first election rather it has chose to remain neutral in order to allow a different body or agency to conduct the election for the Council.
According to him,” if a different body comes to conduct the election, there is nothing wrong about that. We welcome that but not that the management itself should see to the conduct of the election. I think that is what we are talking about and not that one agency has been given the mandate to re-organize the other or something like that”.
When asked whether the Nigerian Shippers’ Council has been mandated to organize the election into the governing council of CRFFN, Jukwe has this to say, “ no, I didn’t say that. Look I work on official document, we have not received any document to that effect. If I have received any document or directive in that regard, then it is understood but since I have not received any direxctive or document, I cannot confirm anything”.
He butressed the fact that the Act provided for the governing council to be put in place and that everybody want to see the governing council in place but was quick to add that time would be taken this time around to avoid the mistake of the past.
On when the election is expected to come, he said that the election would certainly come and that there was no need for anybody to speculate the time the he was niot sure of adding that when the suitable time is arrived at, it would be communicated to the public.
Speaking on the statement credited to chief Ernest Elochukwu during his electioneering campaign into the Board of ANLCA that ANLCA owns CRFFN, the Registrar maintained that he would not want to be drawn into such issue adding that he was in the council to do his job as according to him,” I don’t want to be involved in the political aspect of it”.
