Maritime stakeholders on Wednesday woke up to hear the consummation of the palace coup detat long started by some desirable but unfortunate elements in the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.
A short press statement purportedly issued by the Ministry’s Head of Media and PR, Mr.Tahir Zakari named Mr. Igwe Kingsley Onyekachi as the substantive chief executive officer of the Council for the Regulations of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria(CRFFN) for a four year tenure, ending the acting leadership of Mrs Chinyere Uromta, who had been in that position for one year and eight months, unethically and unconventionally.
Since created by Act No.16 of 2007, the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria, erroneously granted the status of a parastatal, the ministry officials have always used it as a power-soft touch with unhindered interferences in its finances. This makes CRFFN a still-birth in search of life and self-survival always. Created to serve as a private sector concern capable of professionalizing the freight forwarding industry, but converted to an agency, the mission has largely been on miscarriage because of interests of every succeeding minister and top ministry officials.
It has never been this bad for the council. The foundation of its creation is now in shambles with erroneous sacking of the elected governing council following government directive on the dissolution of boards of federal parastatals. The permanent secretary and minister mischievously failed to inform the presidency that CRFFN board is elected as mandated by the Act and not appointed and as such should be exempted from dissolution. Following this absurdity, all meaningful decisions that ought to have been taken by the governing council remain suspended indefinitely as members struggle to get back into the Council. It provided the opportunity for the Minister and other top officials in the ministry to bury the Act with whimsical directives and decisions. Is CRFFN indeed an agency or a quasi-agency?
Before the interest- based dissolution of the governing council, eleven names were shortlisted from the list of those interviewed to resume as the substantive CEO for approval and appointment by the governing board as enshrined in the Act but their illegal sacking orchestrated by the Ministry sabotaged the plan, hence the acting of the most senior director as the CEO.
Meanwhile, while the governing board was making efforts to save the soul of the council, some top ministry officials were sabotaging the moves to have their way through planting crisis amongst the management team so as to appoint someone from amongst them, as post retirement plan and settlement. They made sure salaries were owed by stifling finances and denial of payment through a mole deputy director. They defied all the provision of the Act while orchestrating and manipulating situations. When public criticism against their plan became loud, they took recourse to another option which is creating crisis in the industry in general by illegally appointing a candidate surreptitiously, and consequently planting controversy and setting a stage for fight to finally kill the agency as a fight back for sabotaging their earlier plans.
Now, Onyekachi’s process of appointment negates section 11 of the provisions of the Act establishing the Council. The provisions include: Placement of advert for 6 weeks on national dailies and Tender newspaper made public for internal and external application by legible candidates. The interview must be handled by the Agency’s Governing Board. In the absence of the dissolved board, the Minister can appoint a candidate following the due process already established by the board. The question remains, was this process followed?
Following series of letters of protest from the Governing Board against their illegal dissolution to the Minister and presidency, the ministry’s cabal influenced the writing of petitions against the acting CEO as the basis for the removal of the acting CEO, but they ran out of luck when too many other innocent aggrieved interests wrote tons of petitions in response to the open invitation for memoranda against some of the deputy directors in the council being used for manipulation.
At this point, confusion set in for the cabal who then wrote the Minister advising he should withhold action on the matters of appointment in CRFFN, while ironically goading the minister to promote their pliable deputy directors to full directorship.
Consequently, the Minister pleaded with stakeholders to wait patiently for the report of the investigative panel whose report has been submitted to the Permanent Secretary, who apparently is drenched in the plans. The Permanent Secretary did not only refuse to release the report because the outcome did not align with their plan, he embarked on assault and bully spree against the acting CEO, Mrs. Chinyere Uromta. Until the illegal appointment of Mr. Onyekachi on Wednesday, the report of the panel used as alibi to delay reasonable actions in the council is not out yet.
MMS Plus investigation revealed however that in trying to justify their illegality, the Perm Sec in company of some directors allegedly flew into Lagos recently and had a secret interview with some pre-arranged candidates from where Mr. Onyekachi may have been appointed to head CRFFN. This action still does meet the due process enunciated in the CRFFN Act. Could they have done this for gratis?
This development has thrown up fresh crisis as intended by the cabal, making the already volatile industry more challenging as the man appointed until his appointment was the Secretary of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders(NAGAFF). Their rival groups like the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents(ANLCA) has risen to reject the appointment citing illegality and lack of competence and qualification. Some others are gearing up legal action on the grounds that CRFFN must be hijacked from the clutches of the Ministry cabals who are bent on killing it with absurdity.
Just last week, in an investigative public hearing in the National Assembly on why the Cargo Tracking Note(CTN) has not taken off despite the government’s approval, a director in the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy owned up that the approval was given in error. Now, the same ministry’s top guns and the Minister have appointed a candidate in grave error and disregard for an enabling Act of the National Assembly again to head an agency. Are all these errors motivated by mischief, ignorance or money? Who these directors working for? Nigeria or their personal pocket?
Chinyere has suffered degrees of humiliation from the Perm Sec and his team, the last being her denial of sitting space where other CEOs of the Ministry were assembled for function in Lagos during the 2024 World Maritime Day. He had also instructed the master of ceremony not to allow her read her goodwill message. If that was a show of weakness and intolerance of the female CEO, the graphic narrative of what had happened will leave you with shock. MMS Plus had written this piece earlier but resoved to embargo it until now.
The Acting Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Councill for the Regulations of Freight Forwarding In Nigeria(CRFFN), Mrs. Chinyere Uromta last week, Monday suffered degrees of humiliation following wanton verbal abuses and bully subjected to by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr. Olorunola Olufemi, who had invited her and select members of the management for interrogation on why the Council is owing six months arrears of salaries.
This happened as there is an alleged manipulation of delayed confirmation by the Permanent Secretary to assume the position of a substantive Registrar/CEO of CRFFN on retirement later in October, this year.
According to a Ministry source, the Permanent Secretary who had called for a meeting on salary related matters, jumped into asking the Acting Registrar why the promotion of two deputy directors in the Council has not been effected, accusing her of frustrating the exercise. The two directors who incidentally are alleged to have financial offences cases and are currently being interrogated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are: Mr. Ikima Linus, deputy director, Finance and Account and Mrs. Agnes Adesahiyan,deputy director, Administration.
Uromta who was said to have taken time to explain how the twin government policies of 50 per cent automatic revenue deduction from source and the Council’s removal from budgetary allocation as well as the sharing dynamics of the remaining share of the accruals from the Practitioners Operations Fees(POF) have contributed to the arrears of non- payment of salary.
MMS Plus reports that CRFFN has been empowered to collect N3.5 per ton of cargo imported into the country; N1.5 per kilo for air cargo, N1,000 on each imported 20 feet container and N2,000 per 40 feet container.
According to the new sharing formular influenced by government’s policy, 50 percent of this revenue goes automatically to Federal Government; 20 per cent to Consultant, SW Global; 15 per cent to registered individual and corporate freight forwarders and remaining 15 per cent for CRFFN internal use.
Currently, collection is yet to commence at land borders and cargo airports but approvals have been given and regulators have also issued directives for compliance.
Uromta was said to have reminded the Permanent Secretary how she had written to the Minister severally on how Mr. Ikima has shielded the status of the Council’s account from her and the management, adding that despite the limitations that the Council can afford to offset some months arrears if there was transparency and accountability while further alleging conspiracy to blackmail her leadership to stakeholders and public ridicule.
It was gathered that Uromta’s drill and explanations were punctuated by the disruptive shout of ‘Stand up’, “Sit down’, ‘Shut up’, “Don’t talk while I am talking”, “I will tell the Minister how useless you people are in that council”, all to the chagrin of a director in the Ministry who called and calmed the Permanent Secretary to allow Mrs. Uromta to speak having heard from the deputy directors who alleged delay in promotion and non-payment of arrears of salary.
‘ You are a leader, you have listened to the deputy directors, calm down and listen to the Registrar’s side of the story and maintain neutrality”, the intervening observing director advised.
Meanwhile, it was gathered that the Permanent Secretary has rebuffed all efforts made by the Acting Registrar to redeploy Mr. Ikima owing to his system sabotage. A case in point, a source noted was the Accountant General of the Federation(AGF) directive that all the treasuries of Ministries, Agencies and Department(MDAs) be headed by Treasurers sent from the AGF’s office in which a Treasurer seconded to CRFFN is waiting to resume duty but Ikima allegedly declined to hand over to her and the Permanent Secretary supported him to undermine the directive as he continues the micro management of the Council’s resources allegedly.
Meanwhile, what has fueled the speculation that the Permanent Secretary is manipulating the delayed confirmation of Mrs Uromta as the substantive CEO of CRFFN despite the Minister’s repeated call for her file is the seeming conspiracy woven to kill the report of the panel of inquiry set up in May, 2024 to investigate series of petitions against the Council.
The panel headed by a Director in the Ministry engaged the leadership of five accredited associations, other potential registered associations; the pioneer Registrar/CEO of the Council; all heads of Departments and in particular, Mr Ikima, whom to many petitions were written against both from within and outside. This has left a deluge of surprise on why civil servants with alleged established questionable cases should not be penalized in line with their terms of engagement and code of conduct.
Since the submission of the panel’s report, two months now, the Permanent Secretary has allegedly kept it away from the Minister whom he had severally told that upon receipt of the report details of the Mrs. Uromta, who has been on acting capacity since February, 2022 would be presented to him.
When contacted, the Permanent Secretary declined to respond to messages and calls.
However, it was gathered that the Minister, Adegboyega Oyetola is making efforts to ensure that the arrears of salaries are paid, yet neither accountability has been demanded from Mr.Ikima nor has he been transferred or redeployed.
