VIN Crisis at Ports Has Exposed Failure of CRFFN Leadership – NAGAFF Founder
DR. BONIFACE ANIEBONAM
*Supports duties to be based on transactional price, not advertised price
*Angry over Ministry’s intervention on CRFFN Board Election, asks NAGAFF, ANLCA Presidents to protest to N’Assembly
By Francis Ugwoke
The founder of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, on Monday said the problem at the Lagos ports over the introduction of Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) was as a result of the leadership failure in the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN).
Aniebonam said the CRFFN leadership ought to have reached out to the Nigeria Cutoms Service (NCS) in respect of the protests.
Speaking at a media briefing in Apapa, he said that by so doing the current problem would have been averted.
According to him, CRFFN ought to have met with Customs to urge the revenue agency to always invite associations of freight forwarders as well as the regulatory body before the introduction of VIN.
Such invitation, he explained would enable the CRFFN and freight forwarders to make their own input before the Customs would take the final decision.
Aniebonam said the protesting agents were right for insisting on transactional price as the basis for duty calculation not advertised price.
He explained that the advertised price could be negotiated between the seller and the buyer in what can bring the advertised price down.
But he added that NAGAFF had to withdraw in the action against the Customs to give room for dialogue.
The NAGAFF founder also expressed dismay over the role being played by the Ministry of Transport in respect of the Council’s governing board election.
Aniebonam said it was wrong for the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi to have recognised the single candidacy arrangement as
against the position of the associations of freight forwarders that candidates should come under the umbrella of registered associations.
He said it was wrong for the Minister to have failed to follow the decision of the stakeholders on the issue of the election, adding that this was a complete negation of the CRFFN Act.
Recalling past experiences since the establishement of the CRFFN, he said the Ministry has not added any value to the regulatory body and was doing anything it likes.
Aniebonam therefore charged the leadership of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), NAGAFF and other associations to take the issue of the Ministry’s hijacking and interference in the CRFFN to the National Assembly for their intervention.
He said that the sole objective of establishing the CRFFN has been defeated with the body now under the Ministry as an agency.
The NAGAFF founder also said that the CRFFN as being controlled by the Ministry has failed freight forwarders.
Over the months, NAGAFF, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) and other associations had agreed on a sharing formula arrangement.
Under the arrangement, ANLCA and NAGAFF being the biggest associations wanted to field three candidates each while other associations will get a slot each.
But this was challenged by two former Presidents of NAGAFF, Dr. Eugene Nweke and Dr. Increase Uche who insisted they want to contest the CRFFN election as single candidates.
The Miister had while settling the issue directed the CRFFN to organise the election within two weeks.
It is however over a month and the election has been stalled.
*Angry over Ministry’s intervention on CRFFN Board Election, asks NAGAFF, ANLCA Presidents to protest to N’Assembly
By Francis Ugwoke
The founder of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, on Monday said the problem at the Lagos ports over the introduction of Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) was as a result of the leadership failure in the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN).
Aniebonam said the CRFFN leadership ought to have reached out to the Nigeria Cutoms Service (NCS) in respect of the protests.
Speaking at a media briefing in Apapa, he said that by so doing the current problem would have been averted.
According to him, CRFFN ought to have met with Customs to urge the revenue agency to always invite associations of freight forwarders as well as the regulatory body before the introduction of VIN.
Such invitation, he explained would enable the CRFFN and freight forwarders to make their own input before the Customs would take the final decision.
Aniebonam said the protesting agents were right for insisting on transactional price as the basis for duty calculation not advertised price.
He explained that the advertised price could be negotiated between the seller and the buyer in what can bring the advertised price down.
But he added that NAGAFF had to withdraw in the action against the Customs to give room for dialogue.
The NAGAFF founder also expressed dismay over the role being played by the Ministry of Transport in respect of the Council’s governing board election.
Aniebonam said it was wrong for the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi to have recognised the single candidacy arrangement as
against the position of the associations of freight forwarders that candidates should come under the umbrella of registered associations.
He said it was wrong for the Minister to have failed to follow the decision of the stakeholders on the issue of the election, adding that this was a complete negation of the CRFFN Act.
Recalling past experiences since the establishement of the CRFFN, he said the Ministry has not added any value to the regulatory body and was doing anything it likes.
Aniebonam therefore charged the leadership of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), NAGAFF and other associations to take the issue of the Ministry’s hijacking and interference in the CRFFN to the National Assembly for their intervention.
He said that the sole objective of establishing the CRFFN has been defeated with the body now under the Ministry as an agency.
The NAGAFF founder also said that the CRFFN as being controlled by the Ministry has failed freight forwarders.
Over the months, NAGAFF, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) and other associations had agreed on a sharing formula arrangement.
Under the arrangement, ANLCA and NAGAFF being the biggest associations wanted to field three candidates each while other associations will get a slot each.
But this was challenged by two former Presidents of NAGAFF, Dr. Eugene Nweke and Dr. Increase Uche who insisted they want to contest the CRFFN election as single candidates.
The Miister had while settling the issue directed the CRFFN to organise the election within two weeks.
It is however over a month and the election has been stalled.
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