…Tasks him on accreditation, registration of APFFLON, others
The immediate past Acting National President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, ANLCA, Dr. Kayode Farinto has advised the Registrar of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria, CRFFN, Mr. Igwe Kingsley Onyekachi to as a matter of urgency, send a memo to the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, requesting for the composition of the Governing Council for the Council in order for him to perform effectively.
Farinto, who disclosed this in a chat with newsmen in Lagos recently, told the Registrar that he could only perform very well when the Governing Council Is in place.
His words, “I was in Abuja recently and I made some moves, I met some people. I was privileged to board the same flight with the CRFFN Registrar when I was returning and I told him to send a memo to the Minister, your job will not be complete without you having a governing Council in place because you have your limitations.
“There are lots of things that you cannot do without the board. Send a memo to your Minister, let him know that I was a member of the last board. That if he wants to do away with the last board, conduct another election and if you must conduct another election, you need to invite all those people who had gone to court. Don’t forget that some of our members are in court because we bought forms with over five hundred thousand naira, we contested and we campaigned and our tenure was not even up to one year and our board was dissolved. So, there’s supposed to be an explanation.
“I expected the Minister of Blue Economy to have called the fifteen elected governing Council members to a meeting in the interest of this nation to say, this is why I have taken this position and I need advice from you. Government is a feedback mechanism, when he tells us that, we may even give him a better idea on how to go about it. But look at what is happening now, everything is stagnated.
“I told him (Registrar) that he can’t move forward even as a Registrar of the Council if there is no governing board. You can only perform very well when the governing board is in place. I have passed the message and I am very sure that the Minister is aware of it, he is thinking about it.”
He informed that he gathered that the management of the Council was trying to review the Act establishing the Council before reconstituting the Governing Council, an action he described as putting the cart before the horse.
“There must be a governing board in place who will move for it, collate it, create ideas for freight forwarders, then we now start talking about reviewing the Act. If you try to review the Act alone, people will sabotage it because who are you reviewing the Act for? You want to review an Act that will determine my future and being a freight forwarder, I will not be involved? It can’t scale through! All we need to do is to put up our letter, send it to the National Assembly to say that this Act cannot be reviewed due to some obvious reasons and it will die a natural death”, he stated.
On his impression about the actions of the Registrar in the last seven months on the saddle, he said, “I have not been disappointed. When he was appointed, I was one of those that immediately greeted him, I congratulated him because I know he’s a good choice. I am not a tribalist and I like being factual. The guy is a young man, very intelligent and he knows the job. The guy is a good man, he is a round peg in a round hole, he is going to perform.
“I have not been disappointed with his moves so far because I know that he is capable. Whoever is condemning anything, let him give us an alternative and give solutions. I don’t just condemn things for the sake of condemnation, the guy is good and will move forward. I believe in him and I believe in his capability.”
He however, advised some freight forwarding associations who had gone to court to challenge the appointment of Igwe as the Registrar to rethink their actions saying, “They are wasting their time.”
“I have even advised him (Registrar), the CRFFN Act recognizes just five associations now, there are lots of pressure groups outside that are not registered. I told him to bring them onboard, register them and you will see that there will be fair competition. Forget that you have been in the industry for the past two decades, what value have you added? What value are you adding now? Are people not suffering in the industry now?
“No association is advocating again, so, I am not interested in who goes to court, he has his personal reason for doing that. If I am the Registrar of CRFFN today, all those other pressure groups that are due for registration, will be given accreditation and registration”, he added.
When reminded that the Registrar cannot unilaterally accredit and register new freight forwarding associations without the Governing Council in place, he said, “That’s what we are saying, that’s why we needed a governing board in place and that’s why I told him, you can’t move forward if there’s no governing board in place. APFFLON is doing marvelously well, you can register them. APFFLON is doing well, even doing better than some of the registered associations.
On insinuations in some quarters the incumbent Registrar is a place holder awaiting the appointment of the “Choice Candidate”, Farinto said, “It is a beer parlour gist, Kingsley is qualified to be the Registrar of the Council. He has been appointed and he’s not doing badly and the man is learning fast on the job. He is even learning faster than what you think.
“If he has a Governing Council in place now, you will be surprised what the guy will achieve. But he has limitations, I told him that most of the things that will pull him back to the ministry, the governing Council will process it, propel it and push it to the ministry. My brother, whoever is telling you that is engaging in beer parlour gist and I don’t listen to beer parlour gist.”
Photo: Dr. Kayode Farinto, Managing Director of Wealthy Honey Investment Limited.
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