Tension has emerged within Nigeria’s freight forwarding community as members of the various associations disagree over the operational status of a body called- Joint Action Committee of Freight Forwarders (JACOFF).
However, leading freight forwarders and Customs brokers have clarified that JACOFF was a mere creation for to serve a specific purpose and that purpose had lapsed.
Recall that JACOFF was recently in the news, because major freight forwarding associations, specifically the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) and the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), disowned the group.
Checks by Shipping Position Daily show that the Joint Action Committee of Freight Forwarders (JACOFF) emerged around 2011 as a collaborative platform initiated by leaders of major freight forwarding associations. Its primary objective was to create a structured mechanism for the collection of Cargo Clearance Dues (CCD) to support the operational activities of their respective organizations.
The committee brought together key industry groups, including ANLCA, NAGAFF, National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Association of Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (AREFF), and the National Association of Freight Forwarders and Consolidators (NAFFAC).
The coalition was chaired by Prince Olayiwola Shittu of ANLCA, with NAGAFF represented by Mr. Eugene Nweke and NCMDLCA by Chief Festus Ejiofor, alongside other executives from participating associations.
At inception, the initiative also played a role in the collection of the Practitioners Operating Fee (POF), although this later became contentious, with claims that the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria, eventually assuming responsibility for the fee.
However speaking exclusively with Shipping Position Daily last week, a Former ANLCA President, Prince Olayiwola Shittu dismissed claims of JACOFF’s current existence, describing the development as misleading. He expressed surprise that some individuals were attempting to revive the platform.
Prince Shittu explained that JACOFF was created during his tenure in collaboration with other association presidents as a unified front to negotiate improved working conditions and address common industry challenges.
However, the ANLCA Chieftain maintained that the body was merely a temporary creation and not a formally-registered association with the Corporate Affairs Commission, stressing that it no longer exists in any official capacity.
“There’s nothing like that. Somebody is just being clever by half. It wasn’t even registered in the Corporate Affairs Commission in the first place. It was a temporary set-up for us to negotiate better working conditions. It has served its purpose and has been dissolved,” Shittu explained.
On his part, a former National President of NAGAFF, Dr Eugene Nweke, offered a broader historical perspective on JACOFF, describing it as a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) among national leaders of freight forwarding associations.
Nweke noted that JACOFF existed even before his collaboration with Shittu and was restructured during their leadership to address pressing industry concerns, including port operations and cargo handling procedures.
According to Nweke, the revival of JACOFF by some chapter executives without the involvement of national headquarters has created organisational tension. He emphasized that while unity among chapters is commendable, structural and procedural order must be respected.
The NAGAFF Chieftain further criticized instances where chapter officials allegedly engaged government authorities and legislative committees independently without informing national executives, describing such actions as a breach of organisational protocol.
However, Nweke faulted both the chapters’ approach and the national leadership’s public repudiation of the move, warning that open denunciations could further polarize the associations. According to him, internal issues should be resolved through dialogue rather than public condemnation.
“JACOFF is not a registered association. JACOFF is a MoU. It is a working MoU. You don’t wake up and rubbish organograms. The association headquarters, the president and the national executive is the vine, while the chapters are the branches. The branches cannot stand without the vine. Issues come like that, you don’t destroy, you invite them, ask what the issue is, and then respond appropriately. That is leadership,” Nweke noted.
