The Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) has agreed to the proposal made by the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) to set up an SON-NAGAFF joint committee to tackle issues affecting freight forwarders/SON relationship particularly as it bothers on tariff.
NAGAFF’s acting National President, Chief Increase Uche had earlier in a speech he presented while leading top officials of NAGAFF on a courtesy visit to the Director-General of SON at the SON’s Lagos office requested that a committee which would comprise of members of the association and officials of the agency be set up to address issues ranging from locking of Terminal Delivery Orders (TDOs) at the terminals of all non-compliant and compliant containers at random by SON to the overlap of functions between SON and the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC).
Uche observed that NAGAFF needed to draw the attention of the DG of SON so that possibly when a committee was set between his organization and NAGAFF, they would be able to go into details to talk to themselves.
According to him,” Our main aim of coming today sir, we have tried to outline some few agenda where we think we should hinge our discussion. If you take a look at the document I gave to you, you see the range. Why we tried to put them on paper is to show you the seriousness but looking at the composition of this meeting, we feel that we cannot go on to have full discussion on this but to draw your attention on issues like blocking of TDOs at the terminals of all non-compliant and compliant containers at random by SON. We need to draw your attention so that possibly when a committee is set between your organization and NAGAFF, we will be able to go into details to talk to ourselves.
“Then the compromise on the escort arrangement by the officials of SON, these are some of the areas. If you go through, you will understand what I am saying, down to the overlap of functions between SON and NAFDAC because overtime, we have seen some conflicts especially on items like engine oil, that SON will issue us SONCAP, NAFDAC will equally block, that it is their item, other items are like that. We remember from the onset that when the issue came, we tried to thrash it, we were bringing it up repeatedly, but we think that this time around, we need to refresh your mind being new in the system that it is time now that some of these issues, that we can sit together, take a look at them and fine-tune ways of addressing these things mainly as it affects our operation as freight forwarders in the industry.
“So Mr. DG I don’t want to bore you with so much speech but our request is to have this committee set up between your organization and NAGAFF so that we go into details of some of the items on this agenda”.
Responding, the Director-General of SON, Mr. Anthony Aboloma while noting that he would not want to dwell so much on the overlap of functions between SON and NAFDAC however described the relationship between NAGAFF and his agency as wonderful even as he admitted that there were still rooms for improvement as a result of the present reality.
Aboloma while defining the present reality as the current period of recession which the country is undergoing added that the government was redirecting its energy even as observed that it was no longer business as usual.
“Government will now have to fight extra hard in creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive in Nigeria and in doing that, they will also need to prevent unfair dumping of substandard goods into Nigeria. That they depend on SON, not only SON but also on our able partners in the business of importation, of course, there is no other one than NAGAFF that is actually recognized by government and has been living up to its name”, he said.
He quipped that setting up of a joint committee between SON and NAGAFF was something both organizations must work towards to for them to review most of the tariffs as well as most of the abnormal behaviours so as to fashion out a way forward.
The SON helmsman continued,” Actually, talk is cheap. I don’t want this courtesy visit to end here, I want you to do us a letter, forwarding us the names and terms of reference of the proposed committee and we will reply accordingly so that we will be able to strengthen our relationship towards one goal, making Nigeria a better place and creating an enabling environment for ease of doing business in Nigeria.
“But please be assured that we will keep an open ear for advice and for words of encouragement where we are doing things right so that we will be able to take Nigeria to the next level”.
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