One month after a news medium accused the Registrar of the Council for Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), Barr. Samuel Nwakohu of financial impropriety, the President, Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON), Otunba Frank Ogunojemite has called on the Registrar to speak up and clear himself of the allegation in the interest of the industry.
Ogunojemite who made the call in a chat with our correspondent in Lagos yesterday said that it was expected for Registrar to respond and set the records straight as courtesy demands that he should do so.
He further posited that his keeping quiet could be taken to mean that the allegation was true.
According to the APFFLON President, “I think his coming out to clear himself of the allegation may probably vindicate him. Probably, he doesn’t think that the people deserve to know the truth because his autocratic system may give him the boldness to ignore the people.
“In a sane society, burdened with an allegation of this magnitude, you should be able to come out and clear yourself. If people are not satisfied, then, you can probably institute a legal action to clear yourself of the allegation.”
Reminded that the Registrar is answerable to the Governing Council and by extension to the Honourable Minister of Transportation hence his decision not to join issues with the public, he said, “If he believes that, that will be very unfortunate as a learned counsel that he is. As far as anybody is a citizen of this country, you have the right to ask question regarding how our common patrimony is being administered especially as he is occupying a public office. So, he is answerable to the people.”
On the veracity of the allegation of embezzlement, Ogunojemite retorted, “You see, one cannot conclude that it is embezzlement but it is an allegation that needs the person so alleged to vindicate himself and that is why we are saying he should come out and respond to the allegation. As I am talking to you, we are not a member of FIATA and nobody is talking to anybody about this. Why are you there if you cannot be responsible to the people? We are in an industry where people think that they are not accountable to the people and that is why a lot of things go wrong in this country.
“That is why we are appealing to you media people; we all know that there is no smoke without fire. It is the party involved that will come out to clear the air and if the public is not satisfied, they may decide to explore other options. Because the government officials are not responding does not mean others should keep quiet. So, we are appealing to him, it is an appeal to the man in question and the federal government to clear the air.”
Asked if he advocating for the Registrar to step aside to allow for an independent investigation into the allegation, he said, “If there is an iota of truth in the allegation, then it is necessary. As a matter of fact, it has taken him time to respond, that is supposed to be the next thing to do because he needs to respond.”
Reminded that the Registrar cannot expend money without getting approval from the Governing Council in this regard, he said, “That is why we don’t have to work on assumptions, it is himself that will come out and clear himself itemizing what has been done so far with the approval of the Governing Council. Like I said, his silence is likened to the two sides of a coin; his quietness shows that the allegation may be true or that he does not care for the stakeholders in the industry because he may be relying on his Godfather.”
It will be recalled that five members of the CRFFN Management team had petitioned the Minister and the CRFFN Governing Council alleging wanton embezzlement of funds by Registrar to the tune of over N300 million out of which it was alleged that he spent a total of N36.6 million as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) on fake NGO and beauty pageant in Rivers state.
It was gathered that the Governing Council, after thorough investigation of the allegations made a far reaching submission and recommendations in an over 1,000 pages report to the Minister of Transportation seeking the Registrar’s sack, refund of all funds and prosecution through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
Photo: Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON) President, Otunba Frank Ogunojemite.
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