The Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) has blamed its removal from federal budgetary allocations as the primary reason for its inability to pay workers’ salaries for about six months.
The council noted that the financial strain has severely crippled the council’s operations, preventing it from fulfilling its regulatory mandates effectively.
Recently, the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), led by Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, paid a courtesy visit to the CRFFN at its operational headquarters in Marina, Lagos. The visit, which included MWUN’s national executive officers, highlighted significant challenges facing the CRFFN.
During the visit, the acting Registrar of CRFFN, Mrs. Uromta Chinyere revealed that the council had constituted a “Technical Committee on identification of challenges militating against its speedy and efficient service delivery on mandate of the Council.”
She explained that the committee aims to address the myriad of issues impeding the council’s effectiveness.
Mrs. Uromta attributed the financial strain and inability to meet salary obligations to the removal of CRFFN from the federal government’s annual budgetary allocations. This exclusion, she said, has severely crippled the regulatory body’s operations, making it challenging to fulfill its core mandates.
Responding, Adeyanju expressed appreciation for the Registrar’s dedication and resilience in managing the council’s affairs, despite the significant financial and operational hurdles.
He assured that the union would engage with the government, revenue-generating agencies, and other stakeholders in the maritime sector to resolve these bottlenecks.
His commitment included advocating for the re-inclusion of CRFFN in the federal budget to restore its financial stability and operational capacity.
He noted that the visit underscored the critical need for effective management and financial support to ensure CRFFN can continue regulating and overseeing the freight forwarding industry in Nigeria.