More facts have continued to emerge on why some candidates were denied screening for the forthcoming Governing Council elections of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria(CRFFN).
Dr. Zebulon Ikokide, Dr. Eugene Nweke, among two other registered freight forwarders were allegedly denied screening opportunity, which was later called disqualification, last week.
MMS Plus gathered that some top officials of the Federal Ministry of Transportation, the leadership of some freight associations and the management of CRFFN had concluded plans to elect a non-freight forwarder simply introduced as Alhaji Sanni Abubakar as the next chairman of the governing council, barring any last minutes changes. He hails from Daura in Katsina State, the home town of President Mohammed Buhari. As at press time, his profile was being awaited.
Under this arrangement, the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders(NAGAFF) may have negotiated itself out of key positions in the Council as the position of vice-chairman will most likely be clinched by Chief Henry Njoku, who is the current Board of Trustees(BOT) chairman of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents(ANLCA).
ANLCA smartly made a u-turn to embrace the 6,6,1,1,1 sharing formula for the governing council positions ahead of the election as broached by NAGAFF for all the registered freight associations because it was a strength in its present state of weakness in membership population in CRFFN, lack of funds and ill-preparedness for the election but with a plan to field its influential members who could play on the spot politics of swaying support in their favour when it matters most. ANLCA is still battling with internal crisis for which they had sought the extension of the elections date, which was granted.
Basking in the euphoria of a solid confirmed registered membership of over nine hundred members, the highest so far, NAGAFF is seen as strong numerically and has funded and sustained the activities of CRFFN over the years, but is viewed in some quarters as lacking influential men who can turn tables around with clout and network.
ANLCA cashed in on the deal at eleventh hour but with a plan to hijack the structure again. Recall that the Pioneer Chairman of the Council is Hon. Tony iju Nwabunike, the current president of ANLCA while Aare Hakeem Olarewaju, who was his vice-chairman and later became chairman is from ANLCA. Also, Olarewaju’s vice-chairman, Dr. Sam Onyemerukwe is of ANLCA.
It was expected that the numerical positioning by NAGAFF who by the way lost the pioneer chairmanship election by one vote, was geared towards producing a chairman or at worst a vice-chairman but it seems to have been negotiated away ignorantly.
The leader and founder of NAGAFF, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam , may not have seen these realities in his earlier calculations premised on fairness and equitable representation in the Council by all the registered associations and the vision to see CRFFN deliver on its mandates.
At the end of this election, NAGAFF would have been noted as a benevolent association with the capacity to inspire and galvanize the needed momentum in needs , especially standing in the gap for the government in crisis but may not be able to direct the management of its efforts. Who is the winner in this scenario?
