Oluyinka Onigbinde
The Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON), has urged the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) to focus on reformation of the freight forwarding industry, rather than bothering on which association is accredited or not.
The National President of APFFLON, Otunba Frank Ogunojemite, stated this during a roundtable event orgainsed by the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria, MARAN in Lagos.
Ogunojemite stated that some of the accredited associations have contributed little or insignificant impact to the growth and development of the freight forwarding industry while also stating that the council needs to live up to expectation.
His words: “We had a meeting some time ago and the purpose of the meeting was for reformation in the industry. We had issues with the CRFFN in the court and we have started processing to come out of court based on the response that things we want should be done in the Council.
“APFFLON found that a lot people have violated the Council’s Act, for instance it is in section 19 of CRFFN Act, that if you do not pay your subscription within six months, you should be deregistered, we found that so many associations did not pay for years, and they have not been deregistered.
“For God’s sake, we are not on animal farm. It is people who claim to be accredited and you have an issue which is supposed to be addressed by the Council and you went to court, which automatically earns you expulsion, and it is not being done. Then you want the Council to be effective when people violate the Act.
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“We can rate those that have been accredited, what are their achievements? What are they doing? Accreditation is little to APFFLON. what is important is reformation and we want the Council to work. We are ashamed to present our Council; with other people’s Council like the lawyers, engineers etc.
“Look at the issue of the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Association ( FIATA), how can the Council be representing us in FIATA? It is never done; it is supposed to be an umbrella for all the freight forwarders than to be representing us at FIATA. There is an extent to which professionals can make decision in the Council because government has half and we have half. So how do we agree to disagree? So the issue for APFFLON is reformation of the industry”.
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