The Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria, APFFLON, has called on the leadership of the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria, MWUN to clarify its recent claims on the unionization and control of freight forwarding practitioners as widely reported in some sections of the media.
It will be recalled that the outgone President of the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria, MWUN, Shipping branch, Comrade Ekpeyong Ekpeyong, in his valedictory speech at the 6th Quadrennial Branch Delegate Conference held at the Union’s headquarters in Apapa, Lagos on Monday, stated that during his eight years in office, his administration unionized the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria, CRFFN.
Ekpeyong was quoted as saying that with this development, the control of all the freight forwarding practitioners was now under the Union adding that MWUN had approved a district for the CRFFN under the shipping branch.
His words, “The second area we have unionized under my watch is the CRFFN. These are significant achievements for the shipping branch. Since the establishment of the Marine and Blue Economy, they have all been reorganized. The control of the freight forwarders is now under us. At our last CWC meeting, they have been approved to be a district under the shipping branch.”
However, reacting in a statement in Lagos on Tuesday, APFFLON through its National President, Otunba Frank Ogunojemite requested the leadership of MWUN to clarify the report for public comprehension, arguing that the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria, CRFFN not MWUN has the regulatory control of the freight forwarding and logistics practitioners in Nigeria as provided for by the law.
Ogunojemite believed that MWUN must be speaking in relation to its control of the staff of the CRFFN who it unionized under the regime of the former Acting Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the CRFFN, for industrial harmony and not in terms of regulatory control of the freight forwarders and logistics Industry in the country.
He maintained that control and unionization of the staff of the CRFFN did not and cannot translate to the control of the entire freight forwarding and logistics practitioners as the statement by MWUN wanted the public to believe.
“MWUN does not have a regulatory function by law. It is just like an association like APFFLON, NAGAFF, ANLCA and others. The only difference is that MWUN was established by a decree and it is limited to its functions.
“I want to believe that MWUN is speaking in terms of control of their union members under CRFFN for industrial harmony, not in terms of regulatory control of the freight forwarders and logistics industry. I might be right or possibly the visitation of the previous Acting Registrar has prompted this.
“However, I will advise urgent clarifications in view of the confusion the comments have generated otherwise to believe the publication might be taken as an attempt to undermine the government policies on port reforms rather than promoting unity to actualize the NSW agenda”, APFFLON boss stated.
Photo: Otunba Frank Ogunojemite, National President, APFFLON.
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