A chieftain of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Mr. Ojo Peter Akintoye has said that the Minister of Transportation, Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi may have undertaken to personally appoint the Chairman of the Governing Council of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) rather than allow election as prescribed by the Act setting up the Council in order to avert a possible clash of interest between the two leading freight forwarding associations.
Akintoye who stated this in a chat with our correspondent in Lagos, while acknowledging that the appointment fall short of the provision of the CRFFN Act, however said that the Minister may have considered the need for him to bring lasting peace to the Council far above any other consideration in order that they may have a very successful tenure.
According to him,” If you look at it very well, you will see that between the two associations, that is between NAGAFF and ANLCA, if you allow any of them appoint the Chairman, I am telling you that they will be at loggerhead that they may not be able to get it right which may amount to derailment of the aims and objectives of that Council.
“I guess it is to allow peace to reign in the Council and to enable them stabilize; I don’t see anything so much wrong in what has happened. We can complain that that was not what the Act said; that the Minister should have allowed the law to take its course”.
On whether the government should be seen to be disobeying the law it ought to protect, Akintoye who is the former Chairman of the International Freight Forwarders’ Association (IFFA), Apapa chapter said,” The government is not supposed to be seen to be flouting laws but don’t forget that CRFFN is still a baby compared to these other professional bodies that you are mentioning that are already established. Recall that the election of CRFFN is long overdue before the recent election. Have you asked yourself why it was so? To me, it is because we still don’t know how to play the ball accordingly. What I mean by that is that we don’t see ourselves as professionals, so, things need to be stabilized, we need to strengthen the body to ensure that it is well established.
“I remember in 2010 when we went to Bangkok for FIATA programme, CRFFN came, they accepted CRFFN because there was no body to represent Nigeria but a statement was made there that any body that is constituted by government in international freight forwarding associations is not recognized, it is not acceptable because they don’t want government interference but unfortunately, because ANLCA and NAGAFF cannot come to an agreement to have a body that will represent them in FIATA, that is why CRFFN came to take the shine off them”.
On whether the appointment was not made to further President Buhari’s quest to have Fulani Muslim over every establishment of government, he replied,” Honestly, but when you look at it very well, that was the first thing that came to my, that why is it that our brothers are so power drunk that wherever they are, they want to make sure that this power is given to them by all means? Honestly, that was what came to my mind. But having said that, let us wait and hear from the members of the Council that were there at the appointment, probably, it is their consensus agreement or they were not part of this. And don’t forget that whatever angle you look at it; we need someone that is very strong and influential to drive the CRFFN to the Promised Land. If they don’t have somebody that can lobby very well in favour of the Council in the presidency, we may end up having a non-performing Council.
“We know that everything in this country is politics and in politics, lobbying is part of it in order to get what you want. It may be part of the arrangement, that they needed someone who can drive them to where the power is and get something out for CRFFN. My own is that whoever that emerges as the Chairman of the Council that will be able to solve the freight forwarders’ problem, that is the man for the job”.
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The intendment of the founding fathers of CRFFN like Dr B.O Aniebonam,late Proff.Ebele Osieke&Usman Sanusi PRSD Emeritus NAGAFF,,Capt Adamu Biu,Dr Ikokhide and host of other distinguished professionals was for a professional body in line with FIATA STATUTES, being the umbrella body of All Freight Forwarders in Nigeria,it should be a professional body like NBA,ICAN,NMA etc.It would be recalled that NAGAFF challenged CRFFN,s perceived government agency status in court and to our utter dismay,the court affirmed CRFFN as an agency of government under the transport Ministry.
This is in breach of the FIATA CONVENTION like FIFA that sanctions any Government interference in its affiliated FAs globally,however the past Governing Boards swallowed the insulting and encroaching government hijack of our professional body with the resultant years of multiple litigations and endless acrimonious supremacy amongst the Accredited Freight Forwarding Associations even to a point of almost being moribund.
That the Council which should be self sustaining like others has over the years received budgets after the annual budget defence rituals at NASS even made matters worst.
There were selfish multiple resistance and deliberate efforts to scuttle the formation of CRFFN at National Assembly due to unbridled ego and that has lingered over two governing boards , thereby compelling THE HMT this time around to add more peppe on the insult to ALL FREIGHT FORWARDERS IN NIGERIA by disregarding lawsuits against the conduct of the election and even going in breach of the CRFFN ACT to appoint a retired soldier and a non freight forwarder as THE CHAIRMAN OF THE 3RD GOVERNING BOARD.,an aberration of the absurd.
It is indeed bizarre that seasoned Leaders of Freight Forwarding Associations will gleefully cheer and accept this putrid insult.
This impunity should be challenged up to supreme court as government is a continuum,the freight forwarder is the soul of the maritime industry without whom no revenue target is met hence deserve otmost respect and not disdainful reproach by any government appointee as political power like every other is ephemeral.
“You are as honourable as you present your selves and as cheap as you cheapen yourselves”