Ex-CRFFN Board Chairman Asks Transport Ministry to Check Excesses of Freight Forwarding Associations

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*Says alliance by ANLCA, NAGAFF, others only to agree on sharing POF proceeds
*Asks Ministry to stop associations from teleguiding CRFFN
By Francis Ugwoke
The former Chairman, Governing Board of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), Aare Hakeem Olaranwaju, on Friday described some associations of freight forwarders as pains on the neck of the regulatory agency.
Olaranwaju accused the freight forwarding associations of always trying to teleguide the CRFFN even when they do not pay annual subscription fees as individual and corporate members.
He also gave an indication that the so much talked about alliance among associations may not be unconnected with the expected proceeds from the Port Operating Fees (POF) in which sharing is expected.
The idea, he said, was for them to “agree when it comes to election sharing formula and the POF sharing percentages”.

In a statement, the former CRFFN Board chairman while commending the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transportation, Dr. Mrs. Magdaline Ajani for the intervention in addressing certain issues affecting the freight forwarders in respect of the planned CRFFN election, said the Ministry should take further action for the interest of the profession.
Noting that the Perm Sec had acknowledged the legality of individual members contesting the election as provided in the Act, Olaranwaju said there should be a more resolute position on this to end the agitation against it by some leaders of the associations.
He pointed out that one of the administrative challenges the first and second governing council contended with, was the “subtle moves to take over regulatory powers from the Governing Council members and the management team of CRFFN”.
The statement added, “But the governing council and management team has to stick to its regulatory posture to resist the movement of a regulatee deciding and subtly regulating the regulator.
After the first and second governing council rolled out its regulations 2010 (duly an extant regulation), it was in the strength of the regulation 2010 that the governing council organized the first Freight Forwarders Summit at the UNILAG, thereby concluded the accreditation of the 5 freight forwarding associations, binding them over through their respective presidents to an oath of allegiance to the CRFFN and subsequently the CRFFN Flag was handed over to them as a symbol of authority representing the CRFFN in their headquarters, mostly for regulatory loyalty and professional consciousness.
“The regulations 2011 was duly rectified for onward transmission and legislative attention. Among other unique ingredients contained in the 2011 regulations, was the statutory and categorization of accreditation association and their corresponding annual subscription fees, another ingredients was the standards trading conditions STC and the professional scale of charges. This regulations was pending before the tenure expiration in 2012. However, suffice to note here, that beyond the 2012, the former presidents of Anlca and Nagaff, paid their membership registration fees of #500,000:00 ( five hundred thousand) each to the CRFFN Purse, but not in the picture if they had paid their annual subscriptions fees.
The import and point of emphasis being that, it is an act of injustice and a negation to regulatory principles where the Act recognizes three (3) types of membership ( Individual membership, Corporate membership and Associations Membership), ideally both category of members are prone to the payment of registration and annual subscription fees regulatory provision and processes.
“Sadly, in the realism of a regulatory compliance and enforcement wise, only the Corporate and Individual Membership pays both Membership Registration and Annual Subscription Fees to the CRFFN, while the Accredited Association stays aloof in its comfort zones to teleguide the administration of the Governing Council, for instance, they are insisting and joining issues with the management on their due percentage from the POF collection.

“At this point, you can now ask what does the Accredited Associations bring to the CRFFN table of professional advancement other than fielding candidates that will, oppose ideas that portend to change the status and continually joining issues with the management team, always posturing as above regulations, ideally Accredited Associations are meant to serve as a professional pool of the CRFFN, but rather it terms to equal itself with the CRFFN and even tussling power with the CRFFN, against this backgrounds, you can appreciate the better reasons behind the so called sharing formula of 6:6:1:1:1.
For reference sake, I will leave the burden of professional integrity on the doors of the pioneer governing council chairman, now a national president, but suddenly turn to be a promoter of the election sharing formula, to convince us that, if such sharing formula of 6:6:1:1;1 was in place in 2008 if he would have won an election into Governing Council in absentia?. Madam, the interests of the profession should be cardinal”.

“Let me conclude on a regrettable note, by saying that the concerned Freight Forwarders are watching with interest, especially with the latest unprofessional ambushing perfected by the Accredited Associations coded as 6:6:1:1:1. It is on record that with the introduction in 2018 following a spate of unpreparedness by the practitioners then and also the orchestrated arm twists witnessed then, this idea was launched from the backdoors. Since, then till date the promoters of the unholy alliance, never saw any need to use their alliance to tackle numerous professional operational challenges facing the practitioners, but as soon as another election was announced, once boastful among them now resorts to realignment for an unprofessional election processes. So, they can only agree when it comes to election sharing formula and the POF sharing percentages”.