By Fortune Ulu
Dr. Eugene Nweke, head of research at Sea Empowerment Research Center, has called on the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy Adegboyega Oyetola to take urgent steps to reposition the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN).
In a memo to the minister, Nweke identified the fundamental administrative issues and factors responsible for the present state of the CRFFN.
Top on the list, according to him, is the wrong categorization of the Council as an agency of the Federal Ministry of Transport, following the “sponsored” legal interpretation of Act 16, 2007 by the then Attorney General of the Federation.
He said contrary to that legal interpretation, the body is supposed to be an independent professional regulatory council.
He took issues against the creation of excess offices and staffing; over bloated governing board membership (over 30 members); political interests over riding professional interests, courtesy of geo-political representations by politicians without professional knowledge; and too many agency representations in the governing board.
Nweke decried the electoral process into the governing board, structured in a manner driven more by selfish and political interests devoid of professional interests.
“Government interest and interference in the determination of the board chairmanship election’s outcome”, leads to “a professional council headed by a non-core practicing professional”, he told the minister.
On funding for the Council, Nweke said, “instead of government occasional financial intervention/assistance, we have a quick fix and politically induced full yearly budgeting and allocations in place”.
Accordingly, he said, other professional standard means of revenue generation, were being down played.
He also lamented the prevalence of weak and poorly funded enforcement operations, and embarking on gigantic physical structures above the maintenance capacity of the Council, while incomes go into the treasury account, becoming inaccessible to management when needed.
Among others, Nweke said it is wrong for the government to designate the CRFFN as a revenue generating source thus defeating its professional intent.
He listed successful global freight forwarding regulatory agencies to include the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA); National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA); British International Freight Association (BIFA); Freight Forwarders Association of India (FFAI); and Australian Freight Industry Association (AFIA).
