In a bid to address challenges and foster collaboration within Nigeria’s freight forwarding industry, representatives from the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) and the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) on Wednesday convened for a dialogue aimed at finding a common ground.
Mrs. Chinyere Uromta, the acting Registrar of CRFFN, expressed appreciation for the invaluable support of freight forwarding practitioners, acknowledging their role as pillars of the economy. She emphasized CRFFN’s commitment to professionalizing the sector through education and training initiatives, citing recent collaborations with educational institutions.
Uromta extended an olive branch to ANLCA, urging further cooperation in addressing challenges such as outstanding fee payments and enhancing professionalism within the industry. She highlighted CRFFN’s dedication to facilitating capacity building programmes for practitioners.
Uromta also addressed concerns regarding outstanding fee payments, assuring attendees that efforts were underway to rectify the situation. “The Leadership of CRFFN is aware that we have huge outstanding remittance of this fee, efforts are in place to commence payment of all outstanding,” she stated, urging further cooperation from ANLCA in registration and fee remittance.
In response, Mr. Emenike Nwokeoji, President of ANLCA raised concerns over individuals falsely claiming CRFFN membership and emphasized ANLCA’s pivotal role in navigating Nigeria’s complex regulatory landscape. He called for greater recognition and respect from regulatory bodies like CRFFN.
Nwokeoji further stressed ANLCA’s commitment to upholding standards and professionalism while navigating the intricacies of Nigeria’s regulatory landscape.
Nwokeoji welcomed CRFFN’s efforts in advancing the industry course, but called for greater inclusivity and transparency in the decision-making processes. He expressed optimism about the potential for collaboration to address common concerns and drive positive change within the sector.
“We have not seen CRFFN’s impact. People claiming to be members of CRFFN and they have nobody there, accountable to. No license, no business registration, nothing. And yet, we are being looked down on.
“And all of a sudden, with due respect madam, you people started going round, the worst thing that can happen to a man is when you look down on an organization like ours. Then that means you don’t know. We are the key players”.
