… Says POF all about government revenue
The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has came down heavily on the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) for daring to suggest that NAGAFF and the three other freight forwarding associations that make up the Concerned Accredited Freight Forwarding Associations (CAFFA) should go on and collect the Practitioners’ Operating Fees (POF) from their members only and leave ANLCA out of it.
The National President of NAGAFF, Dr. Eugene Nweke who made NAGAFF’s position known while briefing newsmen in Lagos pointed out that the problem was borne out misrepresentation and misconception of the government policy on the part of ANLCA.
Nweke insisted that the said POF was not ANLCA’s money neither was it NAGAFF’s money but rather government’s internally generated revenue wondering why people should be losing sight of the truth.
“If government decides today and say, any cargo that comes, pay to NPA (Nigerian Ports Authority), what will anybody do? Are you saying that they (government) won’t collect it? So, the mere fact that we are getting involved is to show the relevance that this is us as professionals. So, if we cannot do it, then government can still go out of their way and get this money. So, who is now ANLCA or NAGAFF to say that the government cannot generate revenue”, he said.
On the threat by ANLCA that if CAFFA member associations, NAGAFF inclusive should not watch their outburst, that it (ANLCA) would expose how they got their provisional accreditation through back door, Nweke showed the newsmen a copy of letter written by NAGAFF to the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) of July, 2010 requesting the Council for its accreditation of the association and subsequent reply from the Council acknowledging the receipt of their application.
He further presented the letter signed by the Registrar of the Council, Sir Mike Jukwe on February, 2011 conveying the Council’s decision of the Council to approve a provisional accreditation status to the association as well as a copy of letter equally signed by Sir Jukwe conveying the council’s decision to grant full accreditation to NAGAFF dated the 29th day of August, 2011.
The NAGAFF President while presenting the Certificate of membership issued to NAGAFF on accreditation disclosed that those who constituted the committee that went to verify which association was on ground and which was not on ground was led by Mr. Ogbuagu, Sam Onyemelukwe among others whom he claimed were all members of ANLCA.
According to him,” When they came, they scored ANLCA nine over ten and said that we scored seven over ten and the other ones scored two or three over ten. Even at that, we said no, because we know that when you are talking of being on ground, we are more on ground Let ANLCA count its own area of coverage, their scope and chapters and let NAGAFF put down its own chapters let us see who is covering more”.
“Nobody is exposing anybody, the allegation is just diversionary. If you talk about these other three, one thing I always tell them is that the young shall grow. These three others must grow, we must not choke them to death. Look, the sky is too large to accommodate. So, why should anyone say he is going to expose? Expose what?”
“The regulator is an unbiased umpire, that you used monopoly to give yourself scores, look at the result (showing a copy of result sheet with criteria for assessing the eligibility or otherwise of each association seeking accreditation), since they want us to give out information but we are waiting for them to say something, we give them facts and figures. We are not afraid of them. Who is afraid? If you go to the Publicity Secretary of CAFFA, he will tell you all these things”.
