Editorial: Saving The Soul of CRFFN
OYETOLA
The Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding (CRFFN) in Nigeria is a child of circumstances. It was created in April 30, 2007, by Act. No. 16, to fill a vacuum. CRFFN was established following agitation by customs agents. It was to have a regulatory body that will check excesses of practitioners. It was to regulate the profession to be in line with other professional groups, including Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), among others. Those who championed the establishment of the association also had in mind to get the body to be a unifying group that will ensure that customs agents associations speak with one voice. The associations had remained in discordant tones, warring against themselves over the decades, one of the reasons some freight forwarders felt that a regulatory body was necessary. CRFFN was therefore fashioned in the form of a body that can bring all the associations of customs agents together. It was a smooth sail initially for the Council, but things changed after the election that produced the Chairman. It was at this stage that some agents decided to wage a war against the association. The war has been on since CRFFN emergence. To take off and be able to take care of the cost of administration, the Ministry of Transport, now Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, made budgetary provisions for the agency. But this was to cause trouble as members of the CRFFN board elected from different associations of freight forwarders still started a dirty fight. Eventually, the budgetary allocation was at a stage dropped. In doing so, the government decided that Practitioners’ Operating Fee (POF), be paid to the CRFFN. This was to be collected from goods being cleared at the ports. Again, customs agents took up a big fight. They started a campaign against the collection. Following the appointment of the Registrar of the Council, Mr. Kingsley Igwe, some customs agents also rose against the government, kicking against the appointment in what was seen as mainly because the appointee was the former Secretary of one of the associations of freight forwarders. In effect, the Council has had no peace. It is on this background that the government needs to rise in defense of the Council to save its soul. The Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy needs to protect the interest of the Council to be able to achieve its vision. The Ministry has to strongly give a backing to the CRFFN, as it remains the only way the Council can be relevant in achieving its statutory obligations. There is the need to capture POF in the recent tax bills.
About Post Author
