Members of the newly-inaugurated Governing Council of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) are to earn a paltry N50,000 while the Chairman gets N75,000 as monthly sitting allowance, four times in a year.
This is according to Circular SWC/S/04/S.310/T/65 of the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission of the Presidency which came into force on April 1st 2016. It was sighted by Shipping Position Daily last week.
The circular restricted the maximum frequency of meetings for part-time members of Government Committees, Boards of Federal Agencies, Statutory Corporations and Government owned companies to maximum of four times
According to the circular, the category ‘C’ where the CRFFN fall stipulates N75,000 for the chairman and N50,000 for members.
While highlighting the task before the new CRFFN Governing Board during their inauguration last week, Registrar of the Council; Sir Mike Jukwe said that as soon as the Council members publishes the CRFFN Gazette, collection of the controversial Practitioners Operation Fees (POF) would commence at various ports by December.
Jukwe at a retreat held for the board in Abuja, said that several attempts to collect the money by publishing the gazette was not approved by the Ministry of Justice because it contravenes the Act of the CRFFN that states that only the Chairman and Registrar can publish the gazette.
"The last gazette has not been published; the power to publish lies with Chairman and Registrar. You should sign it so that by December we would begin to collect the POF", he said.
Jukwe said the money given to the Council by the government was expended on securing operational offices for the council all over the country. Presently, he said the Council is not renting offices but that it owns all buildings where it is located.
Jukwe also charged the Council members to review the organogram of the Council. He said the first organogram that was prepared and approved by the governing Council was in 2011 and it needs a review
He also told the members that, "You need to work with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigeria Custom Service to create an enabling business environment to ensure that cargoes are no longer diverted to neighbouring countries, the cargoes eventually find their way into this country"
"We have the problem of Nigeria Customs Service adhering strictly to section 19 (1&2) of the CRFFN Act. Though the Customs is empowered under section 153, 154 to issue licenses to practitioners, the lawmakers gave Council the power to register but then the instruments and enforcement of licenses lies with the Customs"
"If we register as we do and customs do not adhere to section 19 k1&2), we cannot control and regulate freight forwarders", he lamented.
