There are indications that the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) has presented a budget of N5.9billion to the National Assembly, even as operators have threatened to drag the Council to court if it begins collection of the controversial Practitioners Operations Fee (POF).
Sources that were present at the budget defence which took place in Abuja recently, confirmed to Shipping Position Daily that the CRFFN was the last agency to present its budget at the session and it was given a ‘free pass’, not to defend it.
One of the sources confirmed that Registrar of CRFFN, Barr Samuel Nwakohu assured the lawmakers that the Council was going to get its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from collection of POF.
"The registrar, Samuel Nwakohu presented the budget, but they did not ask him any questions, unlike the Nigerian Shippers’ Council and the NPA", one source disclosed.
Meanwhile, freight forwarding practitioners have warned the CRFFN to stick to its budget and funding from the federal government and forget about collection of POF.
At a stakeholders meeting held at the Tin Can chapter of Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) last week, the agents threatened to drag CRFFN to court.
One of them who identified himself as Mr. Lewis, noted that prior to the current executive of ANLCA led by Tony Iju Nwabunike, the association had two cases against CRFFN in court.
"We are taking the CRFFN to court, I am not an freight forwarder that they would have to regulate, neither am I a transporter"
"There are two cases ANLCA has in court against the CRFFN, one of them is the suit challenging if the Council was a government agency of not"
Also speaking, Coordinator of Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders Importers and Exporters Coalition, Osita Patrick Chukwu threatened that his group would go to court to challenge the POF collection.
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