• CRFFN Keeps Mum
• NAGAFF Founder Says, No Big Deal
The unfolding face-off between the association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) and the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) is getting more complicated following revelations that some members of the association have dragged the Council to court.
Even though details of the impending legal battle was unavailable as at press time, our correspondent confirmed on Friday that, even though ANLCA as an organisation has not sought legal redress, some of its members have dragged CRFFN before the Federal High Court in Ikoyi.
Shipping Position Daily recalls that the national president of ANLCA had resigned his position as a member of the governing council of CRFFN last Thursday, less than 24 hours after the association’s enlarged meeting was held in Lagos.
The meeting was conveyed by the association to (among other things) discuss its fate in the wake of the approval given to the CRFFN by the minister of transport; Senator Idris Umar to begin collection of practising fees on all imported consignments.
Sources at the ANLCA secretariat told our correspondent last week that Prince Shittu resigned so that he could stand by his association in the unfolding face-off.
But when contacted last week, neither the chairman nor the registrar of the Council ;( Alhaji Hakeem Olanrewaju and Sir Mike Jukwe respectively) was willing to comment.
While the registrar referred all enquiries to the chairman, the chairman said that CRFFN was watching events as they are unfolding.
But speaking exclusively to Shipping Position Daily last Friday, the Founder, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF); Dr Boniface Aniebonam empathised with the national president of ANLCA in the current battle with CRFFN.
“I understand and appreciate what Prince Shittu might be going through, but then he is a leader and he has to do want people asked him to do. He has our support especially in the area of testing the Council’s Act, because I am a proponent of that and as far as I am concerned, we can get the best of the council if we understand the Council’s Act.
“We were in court before and if ANLCA is going to court today, then it’s a great one because we need to test the council’s Act so that we can get it right”, he stressed.
“There is the liberty to drag CRFFN to court because we have done such before and to me it is interesting because the Council Act has been breached severally and that is why we need to support the current leadership of the council to see that there is a level of unification among practitioners”, he added.
He also stated that the CRFFN was right to have pushed for collection of practicing fees, even as he added that the associations also need funds. “The Council needs money as well as the associations so I think everybody should support the due”.
“Any association in the maritime industry, whether NAGAFF or ANLCA requires money to run its activities and I think we must appreciate the magnanimity of the government of the federation, because as it is now, it is a gift for government to create an opportunity for dues to be collected”.
When pressured to specifically maintain a stand on the issue of dues collection, he said, ‘’the issue of support or not is irrelevant because we are talking about the law that set up the Council and they have the prerogative to do their job’’.
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