Freight Monitor
CRFFN has lost its relevance to Freight Forwarders—Farinto

—as Amaechi imposes yet another chairman on incoming Council
Opeyemi Adesogbon
The Freight Forwarders in Nigeria should not expect meaningful contributions to the development and welfare of industry operators from the incoming governing board of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria(CRFFN) due to the overbearing influence of government which has effectively castrated their performance.
As long as the Act which established the council still subsists and is not amended, the Council will continue to be a rubber stamp for government decisions that may not favour the yearnings of the freight forwarders.
Making this assertion last week in his office, Kayode Farinto, the Vice-President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents(ANLCA) lamented that the Council has been hijacked by the government which has destroyed the lofty aims and objectives of the initiators of the body.
Farinto, who retained his seat on the council through his reelection at the recent Council elections that were held in the three centres of Lagos, Abuja and Kano, declared that until and unless the Act which established the Council is amended to reflect the desires and aspirations of freight forwarders and whittle down the domineering influence of the Minister of Transportation, the Council cannot and will not meet the needs of the practitioners of freight forwarding business.
”I have said it severally that the CRFFN has been hijacked by the government which has turned it into one of its parastatals.
”If you look at the composition of the council, there are 15 elected freight forwarders and 17 non-elected. members.
”By that composition, whatever we even want to have in the council for the freight forwarders, we are already defeated.
”It is therefore very unfortunate that the lofty idea of having a council for the freight forwarders has been turned into the arm of the federal government”, Farinto lamented.
He revealed that the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has hijacked the running of the council through the imposition of successive Chairmen.
The ANLCA chieftain further disclosed that the minister has once against imposed the chairman on the incoming governing board, even before it is constituted and inaugurated, an action similar to what he did to the last council.
”Even now, the minister has already told us in one of our meetings with him before the elections that we should go and do our elections, that he already has his Chairman.
”This is very unfortunate. And the minister is relying on section 6 of the Council Act which gives him as the Minister the power of directive. It is on that power he is relying on to impose chairman on the board.”
Farinto alleged that the desire to control the funds accruable from the controversial Practitioners Operating Fees (POF) was the driving force behind the government interest and takeover of the Council
”The issue of POF is what the government is interested in and this may affect the performance of the new council.
”And there is nothing anybody can do about that until the Act is amended which this council will pursue.
”There must be an amendment which is long overdue because the present council as it is constituted cannot serve or protect the interests of freight forwarders.
”There are lots of things happening in the industry which the council should have intervened.
”There is too much baggage on the council and until the Act is amended, it will be ineffective.
”As it were now, the council is supposed to give direction on the VIN policy controversy, the Council ought to have condemned the attitude of the Nigeria Customs Service over the matter but the council cannot do that because it is considered as a government agency and a government agency cannot criticise another government agency.
”The CRFFN being regarded and run like a government agency is an aberration and that was not the intention of the initiators of the Council”, Farinto declared.
He said the incoming council will pursue the amendment of the Act that will reflect the desire and aspirations of freight forwarders but warned that if this attempt fails or is frustrated by government apologists on the board, the body of freight forwarders may pursue the creation of another bod which will take care of their interests.
”Perhaps, if all attempts to amend the Act to reflect the true objectives of the body fail or frustrated, then maybe we have to pursue the creation of another body that will truly protect the interests of freight forwarders.
”As it stands now, the CRFFN cannot protect the interests of freight forwarders because any lofty ideas and programmes for freight forwarders would be killed by the government representatives who are more in numbers on the board”, the fiery critic declared.
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