…To establish Freight Forwarders’ Group Insurance Scheme
The uncertainty surrounding the constitution of the Governing Council of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarders in Nigeria (CRFFN) may soon be over as the election into the Council have been slated to take place in the second quarter of this year.
It will be recalled that CRFFN which is the regulatory agency for all the freight forwarding practitioners in the country had been without a governing council since the expiration of the tenure of the first governing council in 2012 leaving the running of the Council to the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Council.
But addressing a Press Conference in Lagos on Friday, the Registrar of the Council, Sir Mike Jukwe stated that the election guidelines and the time-table would be released after the Ministerial approval as it had been jointly agreed that elections into the Governing Council would be held in the second quarter of the year, not later than June, 2015.
Jukwe also used the occasion to refute the claims in some quarters that he was running the Council as a Sole Administrator adding that that was not correct as according to him,” in the absence of the Governing Council, the Registrar reports to the Honourable Minister of Transport”.
On why after two months of promising to give approval for the election into the Governing Council of the Council, the Minister was yet to give approval, he added,” where a policy touches on the stakeholders, government is always very specific because they want consensus of everybody, all the freight forwarders involved and as we speak, by the grace of God, within the next one or two weeks, I will be able to show you in practical terms that the approval has been given”.
“Don’t also forget that we now have Ports Economic Regulator, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council. Some of these issues given that before the Minister can approve them; they also need the consent of the Economic Regulator of the Ports. It is their own function and they have to also perform their own duty”.
The CRFFN boss hinted that all individual freight forwarders would be insured under the Freight Forwarders’ Group Insurance Scheme every year upon payment of the Annual Subscription with effect from this year.
“According to him,” we are of the believe that the freight forwarders should be protected in the course of doing their businesses and one way of doing that is through an Insurance Scheme. The Scheme as it has been worked out now is a life scheme where life is involved, a sum assured of one million naira is paid but we go beyond that and that will mean when we go beyond that, the subscription will also go up because it is part of the subscription that we will use in paying the premium”.
He also observed that the council would look at where other liabilities of life insurance such as accident was also covered as according to him where an accident was involved, the council would work out with the insurance company to see the compensation for it.
“We are also looking at a possible retirement plan for freight forwarders because you cannot be there perpetually and we will be looking at the type of annuity or what we call pension scheme so that where a freight forwarder is retiring from the business, he should have some compensation in retirement”, Jukwe stated.
He further disclosed that arrangement was being concluded for CRFFN to train 300 registered practitioners for a start in 2015 even as he broke down the number as follows; 150 for Certificate in Freight Forwarding (CIFF), 100 for FIATA Diploma in Freight Forwarding and Logistics (DFFL) and 50 for FIATA Higher Diploma in Supply Chain Management (HDSCM).
While noting that the number would be increased as resources were available, he however disclosed that the courses outlines and admission requirements were available on the Council’s Website: www.crffn.gov.ng.
“The cost of training the 300 practitioners will be borne by the CRFFN. It is one hundred percent sponsorship by the CRFFN. The accredited institutions are going to train and the CRFFN will pay the accredited training institutions. We want our professionals to be well educated to also have that requisite training that is required to function in the profession”, he said.
On the total cost of the training for the 300 practitioners, the Registrar stated,” the 300 freight forwarders that will be sponsored by the CRFFN, it will cost us a whooping N30 Million because each component of the course on the average is N100 ,000 (one Hundred Thousand Naira)”.
“So, if we are sponsoring 300 for a start, it will cost us N30 Million and we hope that as funding increases, this number because we aim at seeing that within the next five years, all practitioners are properly trained up to the Higher Diploma level and those who wish to go for the Degree programme, the opportunity should have been there”.
