When the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) joined forces with the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) as they threatened to withdraw their services from the ports, they stated that the major problem was the massive extortion from them at the various ports as well as the nation’s borders.
Some of their complaints include but not limited to arbitrary charges of the Shipping companies and terminal operators, stoppage of containers at the Shipping companies and terminal operators desks by the Maritime Police, over taxation and frivolous Demand Notes and unguided trade alerts of the Customs.
However, the covert reasons may be deficiency of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) as the President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) Prince Olayiwola Shittu, said that shortcomings of CRFFN was one of the major issues the freight forwarding bodies are discussing with the government.
“We currently doing an appraisal of CRFFN to check those factors which have limited the agency from reaching the heights it ought to have attained. I don’t want to preempt the developments to give more details at the moment.
“However, I believe that CRFFN can do much better if people leave their personal interest and it boils down to money which has resulted to the proliferation of associations at the ports. You find people in the ports because they belong to one association and registered with CRFFN. However, with the recent developments championed by ANLCA and NAGAFF, before the end of this year, CRFFN would have taken an optimum position in regulating freight forwarding” Shittu said on Friday last week.
The Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) was established following reforms by the Federal Government of Nigeria aimed at increasing efficiencies, improving transparencies and adding value to the economy of the nation has been extended to the freight forwarding sub sector.
However, despite existing for over a decade, CRFFN hasn’t been able to effectively carryout its responsibilities which include; regulating and controlling the practice of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria, and promoting the highest standards of competence, practice and conduct among members of the profession.
On his part, the Registrar, Council for Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), Mr. Mike Jukwe, has recently identified inadequate funding for inability of the council to fulfill its mandates.
The Registrar said that the Council had not been able to engage in capacity building for practitioners to adopt international best practices in freight forwarding, as he said that the main source of the council’s revenue was the practitioners’ operating fees being collected from freight forwarders.
evertheless, the Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi has shown willingness of the Transport Ministry to transform the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) by providing the council a new office at the Ministry’s complex in Marina, Lagos and the Council is expected to receive more attention and funds to meet its obligations.
