The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), has continued to resist the implementation of the practitioners operating fees (POF), even as the Council for the Registration of Freight Forwarders in Nigeria (CRFFN), has alleged that for elections to be conducted into the board in two months, it requires funds which CRFFN does not have but can be generated through the POF.
After a closed door meeting at their national secretariat, ANLCA, through the national publicity secretary, Dr Kayoed Farinto stated that the national executive council of ANLCA still stands on the first directive given to their members. According to him, “there is nothing like POF collection because it is part of the issues in court and I may not be able to speak extensively on it, but I can tell you that, in our last discussion at the office of the assistant inspector general of police, we were given one month to go ahead and conduct elections into the governing council of CRFFN.
“When the issue of funding was raised we responded that there are other means of raising funds, like the annual practicing fees that is payable by all associations and individual and if collected and added to funds that has been paid into the CRFFN account before now, there will be enough to conduct elections.”He explained.
Farinto enumerated that the prayers in the law suit filed by ANLCA which include an order directing the council to conduct elections into the office of the CRFFN immediately and an injunction restraining the defendant from further collection of POF pending the outcome of the CRFFN scheduled for hearing on the 24th of September at the federal high court.
ANLCA expressed approval at the provision of point of service (POS), machines at ENL consortium in Apapa to enable members pay for debit notes 24 hours every day. In his words “members could not pay for debit notes on weekends through the banks, but now, starting from next week, with the ATM card, agents can now pay and get their cargo released on weekends.”
Other issues discussed at the meeting are the partnership between ANLCA and maritime bank to assist members start co operatives and source funds when needed.
Another is the 3day national executive council meeting planned for the month of October.
Finally is the embarrassing position in which two chapter chairman and a member of ANLCA has put the leaders of the association by their outburst in a maritime paper where they were misinterpreted to have called the federal government to removal Comptroller General of Customs Alhaji Abdulhhi Dikko .ANLCA has made it clear that the members were not speaking on behalf of the association and punitive measures has since been taken against them.
