The controversial Public Hearing on the Act establishing the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), earlier scheduled to hold on Tuesday February 18, 2020 has been postponed indefinitely.
Confirming the postponement to our correspondent on Sunday, the Clerk of the Committee on Ports and Harbour; Mr Jide Funmilayo attributed the postponement to the pandemic Covid-19 and the restriction of movement across the country. He acknowledged that, stakeholders were being expected from across the nation.
When reminded that the postponement has not be brought to the notice of stakeholders that had been invited, he claimed that they had all been notified.
“The public hearing can no longer hold on Tuesday for obvious reasons, we have notified all invited stakeholders about the shift”, he told our correspondent via the telephone.
The House of Representatives had on Tuesday February 18, 2020 mandated it committee on Ports and Harbours to hold the stakeholders’ forum to discuss the general principle of the 2004 Act, which for the first time in history created an agency to superintend freight forwarding in Nigeria.
After the plenary and the mandate, the Committee which is headed by Garba Datti Muhammad was silent, until May 5, 2020 when it sent invitation letters to stakeholders for the public hearing on May 12.
But, as at last Friday, the maritime industry, especially, freight forwarders were apprehensive about the public hearing.
In a public protest, the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) had kicked against the date.
In a letter addressed to the Chairman, House Committee on Ports and Harbors, the National Publicity Secretary of ANLCA; Mr Joe Sanni queried the need to hold the public hearing at this time of COVID 19.
“Why is the public hearing on such an important and expectedly, all-inclusive amendment slated for this period of Covid-19 which has almost incapacitated everyone including particularly the stakeholders, from attending?”, it asked.
The ANLCA, in the letter, also asked: “Is this move well-intentioned at these precarious times, with all the contending issues surrounding the CRFFN Act No 16 of 2007? Are the stakeholders not being unnecessarily hoodwinked with the hasty rush, to achieve what “they” have been unable to achieve by force – that is the POF, while those superintending over the affairs of CRFFN and conveniently ignored Sections 4 & 6 of the extant Act 16 of 2007, without implementing these sections since inception?”
According to the association, given the prevailing situation in the country, occasioned by COVID-19, it is advisable to shift the public hearing to a more auspicious time.
“We are of the opinion that to make the public hearing all-embracing, it will be advisable to put the hearing on hold, till an auspicious time that makes everyone/stakeholders access Abuja, to make their inputs for an acceptable amended CRFFN bill”, it advised.
Apart from ANLCA, Shipping Position Daily confirmed last weekend that many of the stakeholders that were invited had also pointed out their reservations about the Tuesday date.
However, there was no official letter to any of the invited groups and government agencies about the postponement.
This was confirmed by the Vice President of ANLCA; Mr Kayode Farinto when contacted by our correspondent.
At first, he confirmed that the public hearing would hold on Tuesday, but when asked how he and others would get to Abuja, he said there was no way anyone would be able to make it there.
He also confirmed that his association had yet to receive any letter of postponement of the event.
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