Freight Monitor

Stakeholder calls out Amaechi to account for millions of Naira in remittances made by freight forwarders under CRFFN.

Segun Musa

Eyewitness reporter

As Rotimi Amaechi, the Minister of Transportation is intensifying his campaign to be the next President of Nigeria, an aggrieved stakeholder in the maritime industry, Segun Musa, has called the APC presidential aspirant out to account for millions of naira remitted by Freight Forwarders under the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding practice in Nigeria(CRFFN) which is under the supervision of his ministry.

Musa, a frontline freight forwarder and former Chairman of the Airport chapter of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), claimed that freight forwarders, since the inception of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding Practice in Nigeria (CRFFN) in 2007 and as stipulated by the Council Act, have been making annual remittances to the Federal Government through the ministry of Transportation in terms of annual dues and membership subscriptions of the CRFFN,

The concerned stakeholder further alleged that these monies, which have run into several millions of naira, are yet to be accounted for.

Musa further alleged that the amount accrued from the remittances made by freight forwarding companies and individual freight forwarders, may have been mismanaged, hence his call for accountability.

“We are soliciting the support of all well-meaning Nigerians and other stakeholders to call on the Ministry of Transportation to respect the FOI Act and give details of total collections from individual and corporate annual dues from the inception of the CRFFN Act and explain how it has been utilised as well as the law that backed up the usage.

“The critical stakeholders in the transport subsector are suspicious of possible mismanagement of the public funds tagged (annual dues) contributed by freight forwarders into the coffers of the Federal Government under the supervision of the Ministry of Transportation.

“The reports in circulation indicate that the Ministry of Transportation has mismanaged hundreds of millions in naira so far contributed by freight forwarders as the stipulated dues in line with the Act that established the CRFFN from their income aside from statutory taxes deductibles.

“The law compelled every freight forwarding company to pay a stipulated amount as dues annually as well as every individual staff of the companies to remain in practice.

“Despite the inconvenience due to the global economic meltdown and slowdowns in business as well as the biting inflation impacts, members of the freight forwarding industry complied with the directives as enshrined in the law” he noted.

Musa expressed regret that despite the statutory obligations of the CRFFN board to use this amount accrued from the annual dues and subscription to train freight forwarders, all the training so far organised by the Council were fully paid for by freight forwarders themselves except very few that were free.

“It is sad to note that the essence of compliance is due to the fact that the revenues pool would be deployed to build members’ capacity to meet global standards and position them to participate in the oil and gas sector in Nigeria.

“It is most unfortunate that all the training organised so far were paid for in full by stakeholders aside from few that came as free” he declared.

Musa, therefore, expressed reservation over the collection of the controversial Practitioner Operating Fee(POF) made compulsory to be paid by freight forwarders and sanctioned by the Ministry of Transportation despite several millions of annual remittances that are yet to be accounted for.

“The alleged mismanagement of public funds contributed by freight forwarders came as a result of the same Ministry of Transportation that has not accounted for the hundreds of millions in naira contributed so far aside government allocations and subvention, now demanding for revenues from every imported shipment into the country tagged Practitioner Operating Fee (POF).

“This simply means regardless of membership annual subscriptions or dues paid, aside the Customs license renewed with lots of money, aside customs duties, shipping companies charges and terminal charges, you will still have to pay something similar to customs duty to the Ministry of Transport before imported goods will be allowed to exit the ports”

The NAGAFF chieftain, while lamenting the plethora of charges imposed on freight forwarders in a stifling economy, said this has made Nigerian ports non- user friendly .

“This is the kind of policy that has made our ports not to be business-friendly and has been encouraging manufacturers to exit our country as well forcing importers to patronise the neighboring ports.

“This policy is not only strange to International best practices but also strange to any economic ideology targeted at adding any kind of values to any sector of the economy.

“We hereby implore our strategic partners to help in calling out the Honorable Minister for Transportation to come and account for what we have contributed to the pool under his supervision, how it has been utilised and as a matter of responsibility, jettison the idea of POF because it is an intellectual fraud targeted to further impoverish the innocent Nigerians” Musa further alleged,

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Freight Monitor

Major industry stakeholders shun ANLCA’s NECOM inauguration

The Eyewitness Reporter

Apparently pissed off by the protracted crisis that had made the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) a laughing stock in the maritime industry in the last five years, major industry stakeholders stayed away from the inauguration of the new National Executive Council of the association.

The new NECOM, headed by Emenike Nwokeoji, was inaugurated Thursday, November 23rd, 2023 at Marcellina Place on Isaac John Street, Ikeja.

Despite the hyped nature of the event with a vaunted grade A list of invited stakeholders, most of the stakeholders whose names were flaunted at the pre-event press conference shunned the inauguration ceremony.

Top on the list of the invited guest who didn’t honour the invitation was Wale Adeniyi, the Comptroller General of Customs, who was said to have indicated his intention to personally attend.

“Already, the Customs Comptroller General has given us his word that he would be coming personally for the inauguration” the Special Assistant to the ANLCA President on Media, Alhaji Ayokunle Sulaiman, had boasted a few days before the event.

Adeniyi sent ACG Jibo Mohammed, Zonal Coorinator, Zone A, Lagos.

Curiously, none of the heads of the agencies of government in the maritime industry such as the Nigerian Ports Authority(NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigerian Shippers’Council Council, Council of Registered Freight Forwarding Practice in Nigeria (CRFFN) showed up nor sent their representatives.

More instructive was the absence of the CRFFN which is the regulatory agency for the freight forwarding industry to which ANLCA belongs.

The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, neither came nor sent a representative.

The mass boycott of the event by the notable industry players was despite the hype to which the organizers had subjected the expected attendance of these critical stakeholders.

“The industry bigwigs, which included the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, the Comptroller General of Customs Adewale Adeniyi, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mohamed Bello-Koko, all indicated their interest to attend” Alhaji Ayokunle Sulaiman had further declared before the event.

More instructive is the absence of some of the past Presidents of the Association whose attendance would have further boosted the event.

An eyewitness account has it that apart from three past leaders of ANLCA such as Prince Shittu Olayiwola, Alhaji Innua Mohammed and understandably, Chief Ernest Elochukwu, others stayed away without sending representatives.

This was despite their hyped expected attendance.

“Also, past presidents of ANLCA and past Board of Trustees Chairmen will be in attendance” Alhaji Ayokunle Sulaiman had declared prior to the event.

Most of the terminal operators, who have business nexus with the freight forwarders, were also not keen to attend the hyped event.

Apart from Grimaldi, operators of PTML and ENL, which sent junior representatives, others like PTML, Ports and Cargos, Five Stars Logistics, and Tin Can Island Port terminal all stayed away.

For inexplicable reasons, sister freight forwarding groups, who are among the five registered freight forwarding associations with the CRFFN, also stayed away, except the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) whose President was in attendance.

However, according to eyewitness reports, what the event lacked in attendance of key industry stakeholders, it gained in the massive presence of the ANLCA members who thronged the venue apparently due to long years of being starved of such air of conviviality as a result of the long- drawn crisis in ANLCA.

Stakeholders however believed that the absence of key industry stakeholders at the ANLCA event despite their due invitation and consultation is a sign of delibitating confidence of this important stock in the industry due to the long years of factional war in the association.

They however urged the Emenike Nwokeoji-led executive council to work assiduously in order to restore the fading glory of ANLCA.

Freight Monitor

ANLCA’s new NECOM craves attendance of industry stakeholders at inauguration

The Eyewitness Reporter

The Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) is set to officially inaugurate its newly elected National Executive Council led by Emenike Nwokeoji in a grand ceremony slated for Ikeja, Lagos, on Thursday, November 24th, 2023.

According to the statement issued by the Special Assistant to the ANLCA President on Media, Alhaji Ayokunle Sulaiman, industry bigwigs, which included the minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, the Comptroller General of Customs Adewale Adeniyi, the managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mohamed Bello- Koko, the former Executive secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’Council, Barrister Hassan Bello, who is billed to give the inauguration lecture, were expected to grace the occasion.

Alhaji Sulaiman disclosed that the association has set up a 13-man planning committee, headed by Hajia Bola Muse, to steer the event.

Hajia Muse is the Financial Secretary of the association. Other members of the planning Committee include; ANLCA Airport Chairman, Bangalore Adewusi, Western Zonal Coordinator, Femi Anifowose, Comrade Joe Sanni and Alhaji Ayo Sulaiman who is the Secretary of the Committee.

Speaking, he said “Stakeholders in the maritime and aviation sector have been invited, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy is expected, some of our Royal fathers including His Royal Highness, Oba Adegboruwa Igbobo, HRM Sekunmade of Ebute in Ikorodu among others.

“Also, past presidents of ANLCA and past Board of Trustees Chairmen will be in attendance”

“Already, the Customs Comptroller General has given us his word that he would be coming personally for the inauguration”

Freight Monitor

AMATO laments high level of corruption in cargo delivery system at ports, as it hosts international anti-corruption group

The Eyewitness Reporter

The Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) has lamented a high level of corruption in the cargo value chain at the Nigerian Ports.

Remi Ogungbemile, the Chairman of the group, who made the allegation while playing host to the international anti- Corruption group, Siemens Integrity Initiative at the association’s office Thursday, November 3rd, 2023, alleged that the existence of multiple checkpoints, extortion, slow terminals operations, touting and disunity in Customs operations often lead to confiscation of trucks after being duly cleared by Customs officials at the ports.

A delegation of Siemens Integrity Initiative, an International anti-corruption group that was on an evaluation of the impact of anti-corruption initiatives in the Nigerian ports environment, has paid a courtesy visit to the head office of AMATO.

Siemens Internal Initiative has provided funding since 2010 to anti-corruption agencies with the vision of ensuring a corruption-free environment for businesses and corporations around the world.

Through an external assessor, Nordic Consulting Group (NCG) Copenhagen, Siemens visited to assess the level of compliance with standard business processes and the impact of anti-corruption groups in combating the menace of corruption within the Nigerian port business environment.

AMATO Chairperson, Mr. Remi Ogungbemi, who received the delegation along with members of AMATO and sister associations, thanked the group for their unwavering effort in supporting the cause of the Nigerian port industry and truckers in particular to provide a platform for profitability and sustainability of the maritime transport business space.

Ogungbemi stated that together with Siemens, while anti-corruption groups like Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN) and Convention on Business Integrity (CBI), are leaders in championing the cause of restoring sanity to Nigeria’s maritime industry, much work still remains to be done.

Giving a vote of confidence on MACN and CBI, he noted that their campaigns have led to the free movement of cargo in the outbound section of the ports’ access.

He called for a review of the Port Standing Task Team (PSTT) mandate to enable it to cover the inbound section of the port access roads where extortion of truckers and the existence of multiple barriers to trade hampers ease of doing business and seamless evacuation of cargoes from the ports.

He also called for an increase in human resources to tackle the menace head-on and financial support to accelerate the process of nipping the problems in the bud.

On their part, Private Sector Development & Partnership Experts Nordic Consulting, Mrs. Marie-Louis Appelquist, and Evaluation and Governance Expert Nordic Consulting, Mrs. Ayla Olesen Yurtaslan, took note of issues raised by the truckers and promised to escalate to relevant authorities through the Maritime Anti-Corruption alliance MACN/CBI for responsive actions.

AMATO presented merit awards to Mr. Vivek Menon of MACN; Mr. Soji Apampa, the Co-founder and CEO of CBI; and Mr. Moses Fadipe, the National Coordinator of PSTT for their collective fight against corruption in the Nigerian maritime industry.