The Registrar of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN); Barrister Samuel Nwakohu has commended the Comptroller General of Custom; Col Hameed Ali(rtd) for what he described as the efforts by the Customs boss to entrench sanity in the nation’s ports in order to guarantee a friendly and healthy business environment.
The CRFFN boss gave the commendation in response to the directive of the Comptroller General of Customs on the presence of some Customs formations in the ports in Lagos.
Barrister Nwakohu acknowledged that the CG’s directive led to the immediate withdrawal of Customs Task Force and Special Teams from Lagos ports.
Shipping Position Daily recalls that, there were protests by freight forwarders against some customs taskforces and special team recently deployed from Customs Headquarters in Abuja to inspect 3rd party cargoes at the ports whose acts were said to have led to delays in cargo clearance leading to exorbitant payment of demurrage by freight forwarders.
Reacting to the withdrawal, the CRFFN boss applauded the collaborative efforts of the Customs with that of the Council which he said led to the withdrawals, adding that the move would enhance efficient service delivery in the ports and in line with the Presidential order on Ease of Doing Business.
Shipping Position Daily recalls that a fortnight ago, some aggrieved and Group of Concerned Freight Forwarders had in a release issueda 72-hour ultimatum to the Federal Government to address the challenges militating against cargo clearance or else they will shut down the Western Ports, which informed the timely intervention of CRFFN in a meeting with the Group urging them to stay action on their proposed strike with the assurance of addressing the challenges with the appropriate quarters within 14 working days.The group had earlier lamented over the citing of multiple customs check points by different formations of the Nigeria Customs service at the nation seaports leading to delays in cargo clearance and exorbitant payment of demurrage.
The CRFFN boss; Nwakohu, also commended what he called ‘the pragmatic leadership’ of the council’s Governing Council in their efforts to resolving issues affecting the Council.
He further expressed his appreciation to the freight forwarders for their patience and re-affirmed the readiness of the CRFFN as the practitioners’ regulatory body in advancement of the course of freight forwarding in the country and urged them to make the Council their first point of call with their concerns in the course of their duties.
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