…As APFFLON demands transparent investigation
…There’s nothing to probe – Registrar
The Registrar, Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), Barr. Samuel Nwakohu has been questioned by the Federal Ministry of Transportation in Abuja last week over allegations of financial recklessness, poor management and high handedness leveled against him in a petition dated 25th August, 2020 by the Management Team of the CRFFN.
The President, African Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON), Otunba Frank Ogunojemite who disclosed this while briefing newsmen in his office in Lagos on Tuesday expressed gladness that at last, the Registrar had been asked to defend himself of the allegations leveled against him which according to him, was really affecting the efficiency of the CRFFN.
Ogunojemite who equally thanked the Minister of Transportation, Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi for allowing the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry to wade into the allegations, stated that the news became a source of happiness to all of them that had the interest of the Nigerian maritime sector in mind when they heard it.
According to him, “So, we now want to use this opportunity to thank the Minister of Transportation for allowing the Permanent Secretary to demand an answer from the Registrar on the allegations leveled against him. We want to use this medium to commend them for taking the bold step to start while we urge them not to relent. We will appreciate it if all the allegations could be made public and the process of investigating them made public and transparent so that the issue will not be swept under the carpet.
“We are all aware of the allegation of misappropriation of funds and how the Council is being run generally that is not helping our industry especially before and after the Covid-19 pandemic where we were facing a lot of trouble in the maritime industry of which we expected our Council to be of help. So, a lot of allegations were being leveled against him ranging transfers and lack of capacity building that we expected from him which have not been done.
“We will love to see the investigation process made public and let us know what is being done so that justice can be seen as served so that at the end of the day, the outcome of the investigation can lead to the improvement and efficiency of the Council.”
He therefore called for a periodic assessment of not only the CRFFN but the entire agencies of government in the maritime sector by the federal government with a view to improving the sector so that Nigeria could take its rightful place in the comity of maritime nations.
When contacted, the Registrar of CRFFN, Barr. Samuel Nwakohu admitted that he was indeed questioned by a representative of the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry Transportation over “the same petition these people wrote that they have been parading around.”
He however pointed out that there was nothing to sweep under the carpet as most journalists had the petition as well as his response.
“A whole lot of people have written about it both the ones that are objective and the ones that are vindictive. So, what is there to sweep under the carpet again? Somebody like Kingsley (Anaroke) said I did whatever I did and this and that, other journalists have written. Most of them were the people that distributed both my response and the petition. It has been around for quite a while. So, what is there to sweep under the carpet? There is nothing.
“As far as I am concerned, there is nothing to probe. They said I didn’t do training, I thank God I have the list of the people that attended the training, where they signed and all that. I have asked them to send me the group photograph they took, I have asked them to give me the certificate they were given.
“They said I took money and didn’t rent an apartment at No. 33 Lugard Street at Asokoro but the question I keep asking people is; where are they today? They have moved from Lugbe, are they not in Lord Lugard’s Street? The same place they said I took the money and I didn’t rent the place; that the place doesn’t exist?
“This thing has been there since last year, for me, most journalists are looking for news item. So, we need to put all these things into consideration. Everything that has a beginning must have an end. So, that is my take”, he stated.
Photo: The Registrar, CRFFN, Barr. Samuel Nwakohu.
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