NAGAFF Laments Exclusion Of Agents From Customs’ IDPs Committee

The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has expressed displeasure at the continued relegation of freight agents and its regulatory body, Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarders in Nigeria (CRFFN) by the Comptroller General Customs (CGC) Hameed Ali to the background.

In a letter to the CGC, signed by the Legal Adviser of NAGAFF Barr. Fred Akokhia and made public to the press, NAGAFF lamented that the earlier visitation of the CGto stakeholders had tactically excluded CRFFN and the two major freight associations of  NAGAFF and Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA). And recently, they are also not included in the constituted IDPs Committee to give effect to the President’s order on seized goods.

According to NAGAFF, “We regret to observe that CRFFN, NAGAFF and ANLCA are not included in the constituted IDPs Committee to give effect to the President’s order on seized goods.  It may be an oversight on the part of your administration to exclude the most strategic allies to your administration.  It is on record that during your visitation to stakeholders, you may have tactically excluded CRFFN and any of the two major freight associations like, NAGAFF and ANLCA, who are strategic partners to
Customs responsibilities.

“It appears to us that you may have been wrongly advised about the relevance or otherwise of CRFFN as a regulator of the freight forwarding practitioners.  On the contrary, CRFFN as an agency of the government recognizes and deals with associations, individuals and corporate bodies registered under CEMA/CRFFN and accredited as freight forwarders.” The group said.

NAGAFF advised Ali to include CRFFN, NAGAFF and ANLCA in his programme of action and activities in the Customs ports and approved gateways and moreimportantly in the constitution of the IDPs Committee on seized goods, adding that the corruption rate in Customs operations is on the increase.

In a related development, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Boss had earlier announced the selection of    members of the IDPs Committee, drawn from the Customs Service, Army, Air Force, Police, Immigration Service and the EFCC, Ali also included some NGOs, civil society organizations and the media to give the committee a measure of transparency and credibility.