By Kenneth Jukpor
Some freight forwarders have accused the technical partners of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) of disenfranchising potential voters with the server for updating CRFFN registration unaccessible since December, 2021.
The President of African Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON) Otunba Frank Ogunojemite in an exclusive chat with MMS Plus lamented that the CRFFN portal managed by SW-Global has been faulty for months.
Ogunojemite expressed worry that the glitch may be orchestrated by the proponents of the 6.6.1.1.1 sharing formula in order to edge-out some of the individual candidates during the elections.
His words: “This challenge stated late in December but it has become very serious since one month ago. People are unable to update their subscription with CRFFN because of the technical issues. Without this update, one can’t vote or be voted for in the upcoming elections. We still this as a ploy by SW-Global to frustrate the Minister’s effort to carry out reforms in the sector.”
He also lamented that 83 members of APFFLON were wrongly upgraded from staff Freight Forwarders to Executive Freight Forwarders, noting that since CRFFN moved from Portal 1 to Portal 2 the challenges started.
“We can’t make payments. We can’t access the portal. We can’t log in. The issues are enormous. Efforts to reach the Project Managers haven’t yielded the desired results and we suspect that this is a calculated attempt to disenfranchise some people,” he added.
Recall that the five registered associations under CRFFN arranged for 6-6-1-1-1 sharing formula; Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) -6, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) -6, Nigerian Air Freight Forwarders and Consolidators (NAFFAC) – 1, Association of Registered Freight Forwarders in Nigeria (AREFFN) -1 and the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA) -1.
On the other hand, there is a strong resistance to this arrangement being led by the former President of NAGAFF, Chief Increase Uche. APFFLON and the Congregation of Registered Freight Forwarding Practitioners of Nigeria (CREFFPON) also oppose the formula.
The sharing formula was used during the last elections, however, it is believed to have robbed interested candidates, without the backing of associations, an opportunity to participate in the polls.
SW Global Limited is an Application Service Provider (ASP). The company is CRFFN’s technical partner responsible for membership registration, website management and the collection of Practitioners Operating Fees (POF).
When contacted, the Project Manager for SW Global with CRFFN, Mr Ola Olu dismissed the allegations.
He, however, referred our correspondent to seek clarification from the leadership of CRFFN.
