The President, Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON), Otunba Frank Ogunojemite has said that the creation of the Presidential 100% Compliance Team by the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) and the Anti-Corruption Committee by the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) is an indication of the failure of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) to live up to its responsibility in the industry.
Ogunojemite who stated this in an interview with our correspondent in Lagos yesterday argued that it was the inability of the CRFFN to do the needful to better the lots of the freight forwarders that prompted the leadership of the associations to resort to self-help.
According to him, “Who do you think that is supposed to take up this role in this industry? And if we all know that this activity belongs to CRFFN, what are they doing? And if there is no reason, these associations will not set up these taskforces or compliance team or anti-corruption committee and so, to me, I don’t see anything that is wrong here in what they are doing because if those people that are supposed to play the role refused or are too busy to play the role, of course, somebody else must do it. That is why I think these associations have to do what they are doing, So, I have no objection to this.”
When reminded that members and in most cases, the leaders of the freight forwarding associations formed the bulk of the members of the Governing Council of CRFFN and could have effected the needed change from the Council, he said, “If these people are members of the Governing Council and these outfits could be established, that is where you have to know that there is more to it.”
He underscored the need for constant engagement between the management of the CRFFN and the practitioners whom they were meant to regulate adding that if that was the case, there won’t be issues leading to the evolution of these establishments.
“To me, there has been always a reason for people to establish these outfits because the last time I spoke to the press, I told them that there is still be room to register more associations. That is where you people have to investigate what is causing the issue and why. This is almost two years of the new CRFFN management, what can we point out to as an individual registered with CRFFN? What has been the gain? And associations, what can they point out to? The only thing I can point out to is that I saw their visibility during the Covid-19 lockdown, they were able to tag along with the Nigerian Shippers’ Council.
“This is what we are emphasizing, if there is no lacuna anywhere, there would have not been any reason to fill up any gap. It was what we observed in the industry that led to the establishment of APFFLON. So, personally, I don’t see what I will say that they are doing.
It is the association leadership that brought about the formation of the compliance team, anti-corruption committee and so on, they were not formed outside the association, they are still part of the association. So, it is just like ethics and discipline within the association to handle some issues and don’t be surprised as this didn’t just happen, it has been happening before just that it is being stepped up and rebranded. And why it is very obvious now is that it is an indictment against the Council because I tell you the Council is aware of this.
“When was the last time they had meeting with stakeholders? There must be regular engagement; there must be room for discussions”, he said.
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