CRFFN: Confine your opinion to your association, ANLCA advises Aniebonam

…Okays 35% POF proceed to declarants

The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has advised the founder of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Dr. Boniface Aniebonam to stay away from meddling into its affairs even as it urged him to confine its thoughts or opinion to his association.

The National Vice President of ANLCA, Dr. Kayode Farinto who gave this advice in an interview with newsmen on the sideline of the MOU signing between the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) and the University of Lagos in Lagos on Monday was reacting to Dr. Aniebonam’s vituperations on a radio programme in last week where he blamed the association for delaying the progress of the CRFFN in the last seven months.

Farinto who was visibly not happy with Aniebonam over the comments however said that there were things that they were doing underneath that they don’t need to start making noise about adding that the ones that deserve public knowledge, they invite the journalists just like the one witnessed by the journalists earlier in the day.

He said,” I need to mention that Dr. Aniebonam should confine his thoughts or whatever is his opinion to his own association because ANLCA is a senior partner. So, whether we like it or not, you can’t compare NAGAFF with ANLCA and we are even having a kind of double jeopardy at our own end. Anybody can be a freight forwarder; you just register with the Corporate Affairs Commission with N7, 000.00. This year alone, I have renewed my license with N250, 000.00 with the Board of the Nigerian Customs Service and at every port, I pay N15, 000.00 for me to be able to operate. So, I am a professional.

“The fact that we are just muddled up by the virtue of the Act does not mean we should not separate the boys from the men. ANLCA is a senior partner to NAGAFF, so, if he wants to give advice, let him give it to his members. I have special respect for him, he is my very good friend but when it comes to disparaging ANLCA, I will not take it from anybody”.

On the sharing formula recently approved by the federal government from the proceeds of the Practitioners Operating Fee (POF), Farinto who is also the Managing Director of Wealthy Honey Investment Limited stated that 35% of the total collection would be given to the declarant which in this case meant the corporate company licensed by the Board of the Nigerian Customs Service as against an individual as being clamoured for in some quarters.

“We have argued over this issue several times. Who is a declarant? Kayode Farinto is not a declarant but Wealthy Honey is a declarant and we all know what the law says in this country. The Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) Section 154 defined who a declarant is. We have not matured to the level where we allow an individual to be a declarant. You all witness what is happening even when corporate entities are the declarants.

“So, if any association wants to look for money, they should look for money within their members not now thinking that POF is a source of revenue and we should give it back to the man that made the declaration because if I make a declaration my agency makes a declaration every year, what is given back to that person? And that is why Council members now thought that whatever is made, if my agency made a declaration of N1, 000,000.00, 35% of that money should go back to that agency which is a very lofty idea and through my association. So, I don’t know why anybody will be shouting that the 35% should be given to the association, no!”, he said.

When reminded that some people were of the opinion that some people hide under the corporate entity to commit crimes which rubbishes the idea of having a corporate agency as a declarant, he said,” It is a cheapest blackmail, there are many Okechukwus under the bridge just as there are many Kayodes under the bridge. How many Kayodes will you identify? In fact, you can have my surname clashing with other people’s, how do you identify who is who? But when you have a corporate entity that is registered under CAMA, before you are registered by the Board of Customs, there are pre-requisites, you must have an office, you must have staff, you must be able to be traced.

“A company does not die, even if the Managing Director dies, meaning that anybody that is taking over the company will take over assets and liability. But when you give it to an individual, what happens to the debt? Those are the things we should consider, we should not be selfish. Nigeria has not grown to the level of making an individual a declarant. Supposing any person makes a declaration now and the person drops dead, who is going to pay? But when you have a corporate entity, there is what we call precarious liability which you must be responsible for. So, whoever is saying that is just being selfish for his pecuniary gain and Nigeria must move forward. Even for us to achieve that, it took us a long time because the way it was being categorized abinitio was not the best”.

Send your news, press releases/articles to augustinenwadinamuo@yahoo.com. Also, follow us on Twitter @ptreporters and on Facebook on facebook.com/primetimereporters or call the editor on 07030661526, 08053908817.