A chieftain of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA); Aare Sanni Shittu has condemned the license which was last week issued to National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) by the Nigeria Customs Service.
In a press release issued by NAGAFF last week Friday, the association informed its members that the Nigeria Customs Service had granted it an operating license. The association subsequently advised its members to take advantage of the development.
A chieftain of the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA); Aare Sanni Shittu has condemned the license which was last week issued to National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) by the Nigeria Customs Service.
In a press release issued by NAGAFF last week Friday, the association informed its members that the Nigeria Customs Service had granted it an operating license. The association subsequently advised its members to take advantage of the development.
But speaking with Shipping Position Daily on Monday, , Aare Sanni Shittu who is also the Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of ANLCA said that it was wrong for Customs to have issued a practicing license to NAGAFF as an association.
Shittu said that it is the duty of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) to register and license associations and not the Customs.
The ANLCA chieftain said that the action taken by the customs totally negates the provisions of the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA)
"To every license there is a corporate entity that is licensed by customs, it is only the CRFFN that is in charge of registering associations and practitioners, the Customs is only operating the CEMA which is the law, before this can change it must pass through National Assembly"
"The CEMA does not allow Customs to issue licenses to associations, you have got to be a corporate entity with a minimum of two directors, with a share holding of about a million Naira, they cannot issue license to individuals, it is only corporate entities and an association is not a corporate entity, it is just individuals of like minds coming together" Shittu told our correspondent.
Speaking in the same vein, Public Relations Officer of the PTML Chapter of ANLCA; Mr. Gani Adeola said that by virtue of the license issued to NAGAFF by the Customs, the association has been compromised.
Adeola noted that the NAGAFF is no longer an association and that her members should look forward to joining other relevant associations in the maritime sector that can protect their interest.
He observed that NAGAFF is a body which other practitioners are under, and if the association has been issued a practicing license, it means she is no longer an association.
"If they are being issued a practitioner’s license this means that NAGAFF has become a corporate body and no longer an association, the members should look for alternative association to represent their interest, you cannot eat your cake and have it"
"The CEMA says that if one or two people come together and form a corporate body, registered by CAC, they are entitled to be licensed. NAGAFF is supposed to look after the interest of its members, but now the members should look for another association that will protect their interest." Adeola stated.
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