…APFFLON laments exclusion
Officials of the Federal Ministry of Transportation and the staff of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria, CRFFN has commenced joint assessment visit to the Council’s operations and the five accredited freight forwarding associations.
This is contained in a letter dated 1st June, 2023 with Reference number – MT2120/527/1/140, signed by Ewache A. Victor, Deputy Director, Inland Container Depot for the Honourable Minister of Transportation and addressed to the five freight forwarding associations accredited by CRFFN notifying them of the approval of Honourable Minister, Officers of Maritime Services Department of the Ministry and Officers of Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria, CRFFN of Joint assessment visit to the Council operations and the five accredited associations.
The assessment visit, according to the letter, was aimed at monitoring compliance to the collection of Practitioners Operating Fee, POF and will also enable the Ministry identify challenges and possibly intervene to smoothen and engender a convenient ambience for a seamless international trade facilitation.
The letter further disclosed that officers from the Ministry would be visiting offices in Lagos from the 19th to 21st June, 2023 for on the spot assessment visit to the five accredited freight forwarding associations.
The visiting officers are; Ewache A. Victor, Deputy Director (ICD); Solomon D. Zaks, CEO (ICD); Abua 0. Columba, CAO (ICD) and Ayaruja Matthew, ACMO (ICD). It however, requested the CRFFN management and the leadership of the accredited freight forwarding associations to nominate their officers to join the above named officials of the Ministry for the assessment visits and provide logistics to ease their assignment.
Meanwhile, the Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria, APFFLON has lamented the deliberate violation of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which guaranteed the citizens the right to freedom of association and the CRFFN Act by the Ministry of Transportation.
In a statement in Lagos on Monday, the President of APFFLON, Otunba Frank Ogunojemite recalled the Section 4 of the CRFFN Act provided for three (3) membership categories of the Council to include associations, corporate bodies and individuals saying, “we are appalled by the deliberate marginalization of corporate bodies and individuals by the Ministry while it is obvious that the accredited associations amount to only 30% of port users.”
“For the Federal Ministry of Transportation to sideline other categories and decides to embrace only one of the categories which is the freight forwarding associations is a breach of the CRFFN Act and an invitation to anarchy.
“It is very clear that Section 4 of the CRFFN Act recognizes three categories of membership namely: associations, corporate bodies and individuals, and if it is so, why then is the Ministry recognising only one out of the three categories? Sidelining corporate bodies and individuals negates that very Section of the Act which unambiguously states the three categories that should form the Council’s membership”, he added.
He therefore, call the attention of the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Dr. Magdalene Ajani to address this infraction as the continuous violation of Section 4 of the CRFFN Act and freedom of other associations will cast the Ministry in bad light.
Photo: Otunba Frank Ogunojemite, President of APFFLON.
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