Ahead of the election into the Governing Council of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) rescheduled to hold in June 2018, the National Association of Government Approves Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) and the Association of Registered Freight Forwarders Nigeria (AREFFN) have agreed to put aside their differences and work together as a family towards achieving their goals.
NAGAFF had earlier through its founder complained of betrayal it suffered in the hands of AREFFN under the leadership of its former National President, Dr. Frank Ukor over who a declarant is in cargo clearance from the nation’s seaports, airports and approved land borders in a meeting with the Honourable Minister for Transportation, Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi in Abuja last year.
According to Aniebonam,” NAGAFF is very angry with AREFFN and when I say NAGAFF is angry with AREFFN, when I am angry, the entire NAGAFF is angry, that is the level of one happy family that we are. You know why? Because they trusted me, they know that I cannot go somewhere and do anything to the contrary or that will make them to be disadvantaged.
“So, your coming here is quite important but you see, I will go back to betrayal, few of you may not know, that is why I keep telling all of you, I am the most misunderstood person but I know that in my heart, I am clean and that is why I am still alive.
“As I am speaking to you people, the aspect of betrayal, the worst you can do to a man. While we were doing this collaborative work, AREFFN, NAGAFF, National Council and NAFFAC, I was sponsoring their activities up to the time that because of the quagmire the CRFFN has, I was on the Minister and at the end of the day, we now got to a point that we have to bring in representation after the first council, the second council, Eugene Nweke as the President of NAGAFF was brought in, Ejiofor was brought in, Ikokide and so on. Do you know that these people got there including even our own President entered into the system and started eating money forgetting others that we can’t even extract information from them but that is human being for you.
“That while we were fighting one common course, AREFFN and Ndee on the issue of who is a declarant, they went there and messed up everything and joined ANLCA, leaving NAGAFF. I just saw the write up, it was only Increase, the President of NAGAFF that was a resenting voice before the Minister of Transport whereas we have agreed this is the direction we are going, that a declarant must be an individual person other than customs licensed company and these guys went there, I don’t know what happened, followed them and has that been implemented?
“So, you can see, that it is not about what you say, it is about the follow up, that resenting voice of NAGAFF is holding the whole thing, it cannot work.
“And to now tell you openly, whatever is the matter between NAGAFF and AREFFN is over and when I say it is over, the areas I am talking about when NAGAFF felt betrayed is over. But let us not do anything again to the contrary, let us work together as a team, there is nothing NAGAFF has in mind. What NAGAFF has in mind is the good everybody. So, I hope that you people will take it from there and we will move ahead. On the issue of CRFFN, it is something that with just few people, we can talk later”.
Responding, former President of AREFFN, Dr. Frank Ukor apologized to NAGAFF leadership on the aspect of betrayal on the part of AREFFN saying that it was not intentional even as he reminded them that the association is a younger brother to NAGAFF.
According to Ukor,” AREFFN is your younger brother, you talked about betrayal, if there is anything or anywhere we betrayed you, it was not intentional. I have always said it, who is a declarant? If you look at it ordinarily, we all know who a declarant is but if you say we had an agreement that it is going to be an individual, maybe I wasn’t there, if I was there at the meeting where it was decided, I would have gone ahead but I was not there”.
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