Chidiebere Enelema (Chairman BOT NAGAFF)
Chidiebere Enelema (Chairman BOT NAGAFF)
The way out of the crisis rocking CRFFN is that we have failed to recognise the fact that CRFFN was initiated by a group of persons and the big question is where are those persons that initiated what the freight forwarders are enjoying today? Those that founded the council need to be visited for things to work out for all of us because they are the foundation and pillar of the moribund council. As we speak now I think it will be better for the people running CRFFN at the moment to consult the founders in order for it to bounce back to life.
I must say that money bags hijacked the council right from the very first day we had the election and I know that consultations with the founders of the council is what we need.
Festus Ukwu (Pub Sec. NCMDLCA)
The Registered Freight Forwarders Forum (RFFF) in a closed door meeting which held last week in Apapa was in line with the way forward on how to brainstorm on our earlier decision on CRFFN and this are some the decisions that were reached. One; the leadership of the Council should be reorganised and election should be properly conducted to constitute members of the governing council immediately. Secondly the ramshackle office where they are operating from should be closed down and a befitting office should be put in place without delay. Also, it was agreed that the interests, working environment and welfare of generality of freight forwarders must be enhanced. Finally the executives of RFFF were mandated to make wider consultations with stakeholders and captains of the industry to seek a way forward and with these few points in place, I think things will work out for good.
Barr. Fred Akokhia (Deputy President, NAGAFF)
As we speak, there is no governing council and the person that is purportedly running the show of the council is an appointee and an employee of the council and I don't know under whose authority the C.E.O is running the supposedly moribund CRFFN. The only way forward is for elections to be held, so that the vacant offices in the council can be filled in order for the governing council to sit down and plan the possible way out.
C.A.T Agubamah (NAFFAC President)
The only way forward for the CRFFN to bounce back is for a governing council to be in place and I have the solution to all the problems facing CRFFN therefore, I want to be the next governing council chairman in order to proffer lasting solution to it.
Dr. Frank Ukor (President AREFFN)
When they talk about crisis, I begin to really wonder if there is crisis, the reason why there seems to be crisis is because government is no longer funding CRFFN and there is no where to source for money. If the Council gets money now the crisis will disappear, first and foremost the genesis of the problem is the suspension of the transaction fee collection, if the minister gives the approval for the collection, there will be no more crisis. The other problem is a man-made problem of supremacy, that is, one association saying they are superior to the other, don't forget that the government registered all these associations and it can come up one day to proscribe anyone that is giving it problems. This is why the big associations should be very careful, CRFFN is an Act of Parliament, and yet we have associations that are trying to control CRFFN instead of the other way round, if we really want to help the council to work, then let everyone bury their hatchets and rally round the CRFFN, it is our baby, everyone should work with the council to make it survive, we should contribute in any means; through contributions, grants and so on.
Tony Iju Nwabunike (Pioneer Chairman, CRFFN)
I have said it times without number that the Council cannot do without the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) this is one reason why I want to get into the ANLCA Board of Trustees because we have to harmonize whatever the difference between there is with the two bodies. But I know that the CRFFN will stand firmer with the support of ANLCA, so we will put the synergy together in order to get a wonderful council.
Whatever happens to the CRFFN, we should give it a little time to survive, remember that it was born in 2007, this is maximum of seven years, the council has also witnessed only two chairmen, what we should be concentrating upon is how to conduct elections and put another freight forwarder as new chairman of the CRFFN in order to champion its course. So the issue of what we have done, whether it’s good or bad should not be repeating itself all the time. What is important is that we are moving forward, and those who believe in this CRFFN know that we should be moving forward and not to dwell on what we have done before.
Mr. Charles Ubah (ANLCA member)
The issue of ego and self interest is one of the major problems the council is having, the big wigs that are fighting should sheath their swords so that we can move ahead, the purpose for which CRFFN was established should be adhered to strictly, they should do their work and not the job of the associations, an association is a platform where people of same profession articulate their views, but CRFFN on the other hand is a regulatory body. So they should draw a clear line from what a regulatory body is and what an association is and they should adhere strictly to it, there must not be overlapping functions.
Chucks Kanikwu (Secretary, ANLCA Tin Can)
They should understand and follow the objectives of setting up CRFFN which is to regulate, if they had performed this function properly, we would not be in this crisis. It is because of the lopsided nature of the council that further compounded the situation of the industry, the proper measures they were supposed to apply in accrediting freight forwarding association was abandoned and this is what brought about the problems. My only suggestion is for them to re-visit the accreditation and do the needful, there are some of the associations registered that are supposed to merge, the fact is that CRFFN came in to curtail proliferation in the freight forwarding sector and the habit of losing election here and going there to set up association, if they continue with this trend of encouraging ‘one room’ associations with no visible spread across the geographical zones of the country, to start rubbing shoulders with those that already has an established structure through which they reach out to their members. The CRFFN regulates members through the associations, and therefore, it is the associations that have members and spread that should be relevant in this structure, the regulation of CRFFN does not stop within the confines of Lagos State alone, the activities of freight; both air and sea, go beyond Lagos. Therefore they should do the needful, the moment all these are sorted out, the Council will move, nobody is saying CRFFN should not carry out its oversight function, but the way it is done is the problem. They started well, the first council was not good, the second council came in to further compound the problem, people that were not supposed to be in the council were now the champions, just because of vested interests.
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