Shittu: POF Proceeds Should be Warehoused in CBN Like ETLS, CISS for Accountability
*Says POF is why CRFFN Council members want tenure elongation
By Francis Ugwoke
As the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) moves to enforce the collection of the controversial Ports Operating Fees (POF) from customs brokers and freight forwarders, a strong measure of accountability in which the collections are warehoused with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been advocated as necessary to achieve the objective of the fund.
Immediate past President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agent (ANLCA), Prince Olayiwola Shittu, said if there is honesty on the part of CRFFN Council members and management to generate fund for purposes of carrying out its statutory obligations, government should include the collections among the payments that go along with customs duty.
Shittu in an exclusive interview with SHIPPING DAY referred to the levies paid in the name of Ecowas Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) and Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme (CISS) as examples of how POF should be fashioned for the purpose of accountability.
He argued that with this, it means that the use of the fund which will be housed with the CBN will go through due diligence.
The former ANLCA President condemned the agbero style adopted by the CRFFN management in its efforts to collect the POF.
Shittu also said the reason why members of the Board of the Council whose tenure has since expired yet they do not want to leave office was because of the proceeds expected from the POF collection.
He added that the tenure extension by the board members was for no other reason other than the attraction for POF collection.
According to Shittu, “You hear stories about Ports Operating Fees (POF). Ooh-it is going to be for training people. All the training we have been having since we do this business, we pay from our pocket. Nigerians are ready to pay. If that becomes part of requirements for you to remain in business, you will pay to go for training. But you say, no, we will do training, I am just telling you why they are not getting it right.
“When going for POF, you know recently, they wanted to do like all these agbero that stay on the road to collect money, I mean, we have gone beyond that level. I want to tell you honestly, if there in honesty, if CRFFN wants to generate money, whether to sponsor people for travelling abroad or going for same training here, assuming they went to do that, what do they do, let government put it among the payment that goes along with customs duty. Just like we have ETLS, CISS- they go under different headings. The money is warehoused in Central Bank, and you now make a budget requesting for that money to be used. You go through due diligence. Not for you to say, you will go online. I got a job, I don’t even know how I am going to go about the job, I don’t even know whether I am going to make something or not, I go online, you pay through such cumbersome exercise. And that is why those who are in the council today don’t want to leave there, talk of tenure extension. Say, COVID, we did not do enough because of COVID. Buhari that is not even doing enough, 2023, he will say he is not going because COVID has eaten part of his tenure”.
Shittu also criticized the CRFFN for losing focus of the objectives for which customs brokers and freight forwarders toiled for years to set it up.
He said this was because the Council has been hijacked by the government.
He regretted that those who tried to give genuine advice to the Council were regarded as enemies.
Shittu said, “ Talking about CRFFN, the reason why they are not focused, from Mike Jukwe, is because once you give them good advice, they turn you to enemy. I know several times when he had issues with Dr. Aniebonam, when the man (Aniebonam) got too tired with their nonsense, he will just throw one bomb, and they will now be calling from there, but me I don’t have stomach for that. As soon as I left office, I decided to leave them. CRFFN business is training, is not for them to run a training institution, they are supposed to accredit schools that will take charge of training freight forwarders in all the fields relevant in the maritime industry . That is their job. Like COREN, you can’t have a University that wants to do an engineering course, and they are not accredited by COREN. It is because of that interest in money they started in a wrong footing, part of the problem I had with Jukwe, one of the reasons I said rather than to be counted among these people, let me resign. They were receiving budget from government, area of operations of freight forwarder, we know land borders is part of it, but how many goods go out of Nigeria through the land border? Even the goods that are coming in through the land border, are their documentation at par with seaports. We told them if they might have offices, let them put it on zonal basis so that their expenses can be accommodated by their budget. But what did you see, offices all over, CRFFN now has staff, even you will be asking what do they need all this people for. It now became, “ na we we, employ my brother now”, you continue to hear that. SO what do I bring in there, when that money is no longer enough, they must be looking for ways to meet it up. That is why you hear stories about Ports Operating Fees (POF)”
By Francis Ugwoke
As the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) moves to enforce the collection of the controversial Ports Operating Fees (POF) from customs brokers and freight forwarders, a strong measure of accountability in which the collections are warehoused with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been advocated as necessary to achieve the objective of the fund.
Immediate past President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agent (ANLCA), Prince Olayiwola Shittu, said if there is honesty on the part of CRFFN Council members and management to generate fund for purposes of carrying out its statutory obligations, government should include the collections among the payments that go along with customs duty.
Shittu in an exclusive interview with SHIPPING DAY referred to the levies paid in the name of Ecowas Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) and Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme (CISS) as examples of how POF should be fashioned for the purpose of accountability.
He argued that with this, it means that the use of the fund which will be housed with the CBN will go through due diligence.
The former ANLCA President condemned the agbero style adopted by the CRFFN management in its efforts to collect the POF.
Shittu also said the reason why members of the Board of the Council whose tenure has since expired yet they do not want to leave office was because of the proceeds expected from the POF collection.
He added that the tenure extension by the board members was for no other reason other than the attraction for POF collection.
According to Shittu, “You hear stories about Ports Operating Fees (POF). Ooh-it is going to be for training people. All the training we have been having since we do this business, we pay from our pocket. Nigerians are ready to pay. If that becomes part of requirements for you to remain in business, you will pay to go for training. But you say, no, we will do training, I am just telling you why they are not getting it right.
“When going for POF, you know recently, they wanted to do like all these agbero that stay on the road to collect money, I mean, we have gone beyond that level. I want to tell you honestly, if there in honesty, if CRFFN wants to generate money, whether to sponsor people for travelling abroad or going for same training here, assuming they went to do that, what do they do, let government put it among the payment that goes along with customs duty. Just like we have ETLS, CISS- they go under different headings. The money is warehoused in Central Bank, and you now make a budget requesting for that money to be used. You go through due diligence. Not for you to say, you will go online. I got a job, I don’t even know how I am going to go about the job, I don’t even know whether I am going to make something or not, I go online, you pay through such cumbersome exercise. And that is why those who are in the council today don’t want to leave there, talk of tenure extension. Say, COVID, we did not do enough because of COVID. Buhari that is not even doing enough, 2023, he will say he is not going because COVID has eaten part of his tenure”.
Shittu also criticized the CRFFN for losing focus of the objectives for which customs brokers and freight forwarders toiled for years to set it up.
He said this was because the Council has been hijacked by the government.
He regretted that those who tried to give genuine advice to the Council were regarded as enemies.
Shittu said, “ Talking about CRFFN, the reason why they are not focused, from Mike Jukwe, is because once you give them good advice, they turn you to enemy. I know several times when he had issues with Dr. Aniebonam, when the man (Aniebonam) got too tired with their nonsense, he will just throw one bomb, and they will now be calling from there, but me I don’t have stomach for that. As soon as I left office, I decided to leave them. CRFFN business is training, is not for them to run a training institution, they are supposed to accredit schools that will take charge of training freight forwarders in all the fields relevant in the maritime industry . That is their job. Like COREN, you can’t have a University that wants to do an engineering course, and they are not accredited by COREN. It is because of that interest in money they started in a wrong footing, part of the problem I had with Jukwe, one of the reasons I said rather than to be counted among these people, let me resign. They were receiving budget from government, area of operations of freight forwarder, we know land borders is part of it, but how many goods go out of Nigeria through the land border? Even the goods that are coming in through the land border, are their documentation at par with seaports. We told them if they might have offices, let them put it on zonal basis so that their expenses can be accommodated by their budget. But what did you see, offices all over, CRFFN now has staff, even you will be asking what do they need all this people for. It now became, “ na we we, employ my brother now”, you continue to hear that. SO what do I bring in there, when that money is no longer enough, they must be looking for ways to meet it up. That is why you hear stories about Ports Operating Fees (POF)”
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