Even as the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) still basks in the euphoria of its successful induction of about 4,000 corporate and individual freight forwarders last weekend, the founder of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) Dr. Boniface Aniebonam has called for the expulsion of some members of the governing council from the CRFFN.
Even as the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) still basks in the euphoria of its successful induction of about 4,000 corporate and individual freight forwarders last weekend, the founder of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) Dr. Boniface Aniebonam has called for the expulsion of some members of the governing council from the CRFFN.
Aniebonam who spoke with journalists in Lagos on Tuesday particularly singled out some names which include the immediate past chairman of governing council of the CRFFN, Mr Tony Nwabunike, immediate past president of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) Sir Ernest Elochukwu, and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the association, Chief Henry Njoku whom he accused of confusing CFRFN as an extension of ANLCA.
Others names he mentioned included: Chief Peter Obi and incumbent vice chairman of the council Dr. Sam Onyemelukwe.
Though he canvassed for the support and cooperation of all freight forwarders to the present leadership of the CRFFN, Aniebonam advised that for the council to achieve the purpose for which it was established, it needs to expunge these individuals parading themselves as ANLCA members because according to him, they do not want the council to progress.
“There are people inside the council that do not want it to go anywhere, that’s why we must be appreciative of the registrar of the council, that is why we must be appreciative of the present chairman of the council, every freight forwarder must rally round them, because there are sets of people parading themselves as ANLCA members who thought they could transform the council to another association, this is not feasible and they know it”, he stressed.
“From Tony Nwabunike, to Ernest Elochukwu, Henry Njoku, Peter Obi, Onyemelukwe and the rest, they see the CRFFN as ANLCA, but this will show you the little mind that they have, it’s very simple, you should know that the CRFFN is the baby of NAGAFF” he said.
Aniebonam also advised that the council should find a way of incorporating pioneer members in the struggle for the creation of the CRFFN into the council, especially the controversial president of the Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (CMDLCA) Mr. Lucky Amiwero.
He said people like Mr. Amiwero are needed on the CRFFN in order to give the council proper direction.
“I told some of them that were at the induction ceremony that they should still go and look for Lucky Amiwero, I am not asking them to look for him because he is still the president of council of managing directors, there is already a substantive president of council of managing directors, but there are people that if you get them together, they can give direction to the council as opposed to what we see in the council today”, he added.
He however lauded recent efforts of the chairman of the governing council of the CRFFN, Alhaji Hakeem Olanrewaju for focusing on capacity building and training of freight forwarders.
According to him, freight forwarders in Nigeria today can now hold their heads high and face anybody, just like it is obtainable in the other professions in the country.
“The council has a job to do which is to liberate the freight forwarders, liberation in the sense that we are professionals now just like any other profession, so we can stand anywhere and challenge anybody at all levels, and that is why the emphasis on capacity building in the area of training becomes very important and I am happy with the way the registrar and the chairman are going about it”
“As regards the council being a parastatal of the federal government, I won’t say much because the case is in court, very soon you will find out that those who are trying to use the council to commit crime will have themselves to be blamed” he assured.
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