In this interview with Shipping Position Daily correspondent Dapo Olawuni, Founder of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) Dr. Boniface Aniebonam explained the reason his association is now collaborating with sister association; Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA). He spoke with our correspondent penultimate week about sundry industry issues.
“I think the level of awareness and understanding is responsible for the new collaboration between ANLCA and NAGAFF”
Has there been any intervention from the government for you to back down on the impending strike?
I think our position is just an expression of intent to withdraw services from the ports arising from the difficulties freight forwarders are encountering which range from unprofessional conduct, corruption and so in, but so far, nothing is very concrete. I think the end point as responsible Nigerians is to engage the government to discuss issues contending with us at the port, hoping that the government would listen and try to do something, the good thing is that this administration abhors matters of corrupt behaviour, things are really not working well at the port, it's like we are operating in an environment without a leader, leadership is lacking in the port, the efforts being made by the Shippers’ Council has been thwarted, the matter is still in court over arbitrary charges. Over the expression of intent to withdraw services, the leadership of the NPA has been very proactive, the MD has been making efforts to speak with leaders, personally I have spoken with her, also the GM Western ports, we have all been talking, and like I said, we are all very responsible people and the port is strategic to the nation's economy. So, the withdrawal of service should be the last option if there is any need for it, but I must tell you that people are really very angry. So, on our own part, we are trying to engage the government, especially when you have a government that is ready to engage you
As economic regulator, do you think the Shipper’s Council has done enough to caution the Police on alleged corruption in the port and extortion of agents?
I am not in the position to single out any organization of the government at this time, I have told you that there is breakdown of operation as a result of corruption, the Police are Nigerians, it's like other agencies- SON, NAFDAC and others. On our own part as freight forwarders who represent the importers, there are matters of non-compliance to import regulations, so it is going to be a holistic discussion.
Is it true that government is making moves to collapse other associations into ANLCA and NAGAFF alone?
I am not aware of that, but for me, if I want to look at this matter as it were, what the minister is trying to do might be in good intention. We have not seen any sign of that, however if the minister comes tomorrow, then that's a different ball game. Some of us in the leadership of the two big associations are beginning to look at the issue of self-regulation, there are two legislative instrument at the moment which regulates activities of freight forwarders and licensed customs agents, under the Customs and Excise Management Act, the law is there under section 153 to 156, this talks about the authorization of an agent, and you know the membership of ANLCA is based in licenses issued by the Customs, they specialized in Customs matters, NAGAFF on the other hand, our membership cuts across corporate bodies and individuals as freight forwarders, so, we are trying to look at it without infringing on the rights of anybody under section 20 of the constitution to freely associate. If NAGAFF and ANLCA can collaborate, it would give a better direction in the port. So, membership of an association is voluntary and I know that if ANLCA and NAGAFF work together, other small associations would naturally collapse on their own.
Are you satisfied with the way the Customs CG is carrying out his mandate as given to him by Mr President?
Customs is highly technical and we know that he came from the background of the military into a terrain that he is not very conversant with and I think he is learning very fast, we have been sending many documents to him. But, I think one thing that has unfolded now is that it appears the CG had been enveloped from getting to reach people, we are likely to meet with the CG as opposed to what it used to be, something is telling me that one or two persons may have cordoned that headquarters and begin to inundate him with things that are not real, the CG cannot succeed without collaborating with the freight forwarders, we are the artery, if he wants to enhance revenue collection, he still has to use the platform of NAGAFF and ANLCA because it is our members that facilitate payment of duty. Also, if you look at the issue of compliance which is a major problem in the port, you need a framework or baseline to achieve your objective, so I am sure that by the time we meet with the CG, a lot of things would have opened up.
On the issue of the National Assembly mandating the Customs CG to wear uniform, do you think that the uniform is important?
I would speak with you from the point of law, when you look at section 5 of the constitution, the powers of the Executive President of Nigeria and Section 171 which talks about the powers of the President to appoint heads of Government, part of the powers of the President has been given to Hameed Ali to go and restructure, reform and enhance revenue in Customs operations, so the issue of wearing or not wearing uniform is not important.
Would you say that activities at the seaport terminals have increased due to some items that were banned from being imported through land borders?
Of course it has increased. It is unfortunate that Customs have refused to apply the Customs law or make people to understand the law, Sections 17 and 19 of the Customs and Excise Management Act on the powers of the customs to restrict the movement of cargo for customs purpose, and before the restriction of movement of vehicular effects, I am aware that rice and pharmaceutical products are not coming through the land borders, government decided to be radical about the importation of vehicles into this country.
Before now, ANLCA and NAGAFF always disagreed, what is the secret behind this new-found love?
It has to do with the leadership of the two organizations, you recall that when I was the President of NAGAFF, propaganda was an instrument of war, these propaganda were on-going, abusing the minds of the great ones in ANLCA, but as time goes on they discovered that it is not so easy, especially when you infringe on the rights of people on matters of constitution and association responsibilities, it is voluntary, and this is why I was careful about talking about acquiring other associations into NAGAFF and ANLCA, it is not something you do by force. If ANLCA and NAGAFF begin to work as responsible partners and colleagues, the port would be more cohesive, NAGAFF is quite large, we have over 4,000 members. The individuals are more prominent and they are regarded as professionals, because the emergence of the Council for Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria is to profile professionalism in the Nigerian context, especially as far as logistics management is concerned. The leadership in ANLCA under Prince Olayiwola Shittu is quite awesome, he is somebody that has travelled all over the world and knows what the whole thing is all about. A lot of ANLCA members now understand that there is nothing to really worry ourselves about; the customs law is very clear, their own membership is based on licenses issued by the Customs, NAGAFF on the other hand is total logistics and freight forwarding as a whole. As it were, the POF matter came into being because somebody somewhere assumed what he is not. I am aware that what created all the problems for the POF is the sharing formula, and later, they have brought up the matter of ‘who is a declarant’ which led to going to court. In our submission, the word ‘declarant’ is alien to freight forwarding practice in the context of ANLCA’s position. So, to answer your question, I think the level of awareness and understanding is responsible for the collaboration; the ANLCA members are beginning to understand and appreciate the difference between who is a freight forwarder and who is a licensed customs agent, but the most important thing is the leadership.
What is the latest on the Court case between ANLCA, CRFFN and other associations over POF collection?
We are still on the consent judgment. NAGAFF did not sign the terms of settlement because of the issue of ‘who is a declarant’ a declarant is an individual practitioner whose name is in the register and that person is trained and qualified to carry such functions. When you are dealing with a corporate body, the liability is limited on the assets of the company. So, a corporate body cannot hear, it cannot talk, it cannot be referred to as a professional, a professional can only be a person who can undergo professional exams and certificated by approved institution, this is what the CRFFN is doing so as to address non-compliance to trade regulations.
Why did ANLCA and NAGAFF not attend the last meeting called by the Minister of transport?
NAGAFF and ANLCA did not attend the meeting because of the logistics, and secondly, the port is not in Abuja, the port is here in Lagos, if you are inviting us to come to Abuja, where are the logistics you have put in place? Where is the air ticket and hotel accommodation? If they cannot do all these, then, the port is here in Lagos, and this is why the NPA brought their headquarters here.
Note: This Interview was conducted before last week’s visit of the CG of Customs to NAGAFF and ANLCA
Discussion about this post