Oluyinka Onigbinde
As the Council for the Regulations of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), received the report of the committee that investigated the crisis that is currently rocking the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), it has sued for peace between the warring factions.
The CRFFN, had in September 2022, set up a committee to resolve the protracted leadership crisis in the association. It also appointing members of the Conflict Resolution Committee from the Transport Ministry, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), CRFFN, veteran freight forwarders and some members of the CRFFN Governing Council.
It was, however, gathered that the committee was given six days for findings and recommendations with a view to deliberating on the resolutions at the next CRFFN Governing Council meeting which was scheduled to hold on September 8th, 2022.
However, about four months after the committee submitted its report, the governing council has not taken a decision on the report, fuelling speculations that the chairman of the governing board, Alhaji Abubakar Tsanni, wasn’t interested in implementing the committee’s report.
However, in an exclusive chat with Shipping Position Daily recently, the chairman CRFFN reconciliation committee, Alhaji Abba Yusuf, had confirmed that the committee had completed its findings and submitted its report to the Chairman of CRFFN governing council for a final decision, even as he refused to give full details.
When contacted, the governing council chairman, Tsanni, confirmed receiving the reconciliatory committee’s report, but said the governing council will meet by November to look at the report and take a final decision about the crises.
But, a month after the chairman said the council would meet to take the final decision on the report, nothing concrete has been heard about it. Calls and messages sent to the chairman to enquire about the implementation of the report were unattended to, as he refused to speak or reply to messages sent to him.
When contacted, the chairman of the reconciliation committee, Alhaji Abba Yusuf simply said, “I don’t know. We have completed our jobs and have submitted the report. I will, however, ask that we should be patient with the council to look into it and make a final decision. I believe in our next council meeting, which is coming up on the 15th of this month, a decision will be taken on that,” he said.
Meanwhile, speaking with Mr. Joe Sanni, a member of the Taiwo Mustapha-led faction of ANLCA, on whether the faction will abide by the resolution of the council, Sanni stated that the faction does not have confidence in whatever may be the outcome of the council’s resolution, explaining that the governing council of CRFFN is made up of members from the Taiwo Afolabi led Board of Trustees.
He said “The governing council of CRFFN is made up of those that are perpetrating the crisis we are having now in ANLCA. They are still members of the governing council. In as much as those people are still in CRFFN, we are talking about Henry Njoku, Kayode Farinto, Ozo Chukwura, they are there like that, either on the side of ANLCA or the side of NAGAFF.
“They are going to frustrate the CRFFN chairman through the committee that is set up to find a lasting solution to the crisis, I have written on this in September, I wrote about my views about the effort of CRFFN these have been the fact that those that are causing problem are members of the governing council, so whatever findings they may have may become absolutely difficult for it to even see the light of the day, because that will be like indicting the governing council of the crisis in ANLCA.
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“Secondly CRFFN is of the Federal Ministry of Transportation, it’s an agency there, while ANLCA is under the Federal Ministry of Finance, so they have their own different schedules as it were. Yes we are corporate members of CRFFN , some of us may not be, all of us are not individual members of CRFFN. If you go back to the job of CRFFN it is to regulate freight forwarding practice in Nigeria, so this our matter is with the Nigerian Police, is with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and also with the judiciary so its beyond CRFFN ” he said.
However, on his part, Mr. Babatunde Mukaila the National secretary ANLCA, said the NECOM is willing to accept and abide by the decision of the resolution committee, irrespective of what the outcome may be.
Mukaila added that following the recent court judgment recognising the National Executives Committee Members (NECOM) of the association, the association is ready and willing to accept the report of the reconciliatory committee.
“Why not, we are ready to accept and abide by the report whatever the outcome, don’t forget that we just got a judgement recognising us as NECOM, so we are ready to abide by the decision of the council.
“The judgement recognised NECOM, that doesn’t mean we have won, because there is no victor no vanquish, it is the ANLCA that won.
“So I will want to appeal to the warring members to come and let us resolve our differences, if you ask me we don’t even need anybody to help us resolve our crisis, we just need to lock ourselves somewhere and settle our issues internally, but be that as it may we are ready to abide with whatever outcome of the council ” he said.
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