The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has called on the freight forwarding practitioners in Nigeria to give the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) a chance to perform its statutory role.
The National Secretary of the association, Alhaji Abdulazeez Babatunde Mukaila who made the plea in an interview with our correspondent in Lagos recently stated that the freight forwarders were having it better now than it was as the Governing Council members had created room for discussion and were giving listening ears to the associations.
He said,” I think CRFFN should be given a chance because I think we are having it better than before, at least we are discussing, they are listening to what we are saying, it is not a one way thing.
“I have seen the Chairman (of CRFFN Governing Council) reacting to so many allegations, putting up clarifications; I think it is a good step in the right direction. So, in all, I think CRFFN is out for good and they are going to achieve what they set out to achieve and it is going to be beneficial to anyone and anywhere, anytime we felt they are going astray, we should call them to order.”
While noting that the Council was moving in the right direction as well as making effort, Mukaila however dismissed the rumour that ANLCA was keeping quiet about the ills of the Governing Council because six of its members were among the Governing Council.
“There was this story about eighty thousand naira (N80,000) to be paid by each corporate company while individuals should pay seven thousand naira (N7,000). The following day, I wrote them a letter telling them that it is not acceptable because any obnoxious law that is going to add to the suffering of our members, we will not allow that because that is why we are associating.
“Much as the council is trying to do so many things at the same time, which is good in line with their own mandate, anything that we felt that is in disparity with what ANLCA stands for, of course, we stand up against it.
“The case in question is the eighty thousand naira (N80, 000), we have advised them and we are open to further discussion, we are not saying people should not register but to bring eighty thousand naira plus the two hundred thousand that we pay to customs, so, I wrote my letter and demanded that they furnish us with the true position because even if it is not substantive, we need to hear from them. So, that will show that it is not hook, line and sinker.
“We have called our members in the council in-house to let them know that this is not going to go down well with us, get back to you governing council meeting, push this”, he said.
He further said that they would put up effort to call the attention of the CRFFN Governing Council on the need to organize a town hall meeting where they would meet with the critical stakeholders in the industry saying that “it is very germaine.”
“They need to do that and listen but they have been listening but they need to take it to a larger level. Of course, call town hall meeting, meet with critical stakeholders, they have been here (at ANLCA Secretariat) officially, we put up papers and submit proposals to them which we believe they will look into and get back to us”, he added.
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