Oluyinka Onigbinde
A former chairman of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN); Alhaji Hakeem Olanrewaju has raised the alarm over how the governing council of CRFFN has been turned to a haven for highest bidders by some money bags who pay huge money to secure the council seats. He described the CRFFN governing council as “Cash and Carry” for the money bags.
In a letter written to Minister of Transportation; Mr Rotimi Amaechi, a copy of which was sent to our correspondent, Olanrewaju alleged that, the money bags are only interested in the CRFFN seats, because of the 35 percent of proceeds from the controversial Practitioners Operating Fees (POF) which is being collected by the CRFFN, and which the registered associations are entitled to.
He alleged that registered associations’ owners and leadership resort to select freight forwarders that are loyal, forced them to pay millions of Naira to secure their nomination ticket to represent their various associations in the governing council of the CRFFN.
He added that few of the money bags that paid the millions of Naira to secure the council seats had hinted that there is always a Return on Investments (RoI).
The former CRFFN Chairman expressed concern over the anomalies in the governing Council under the Minister’s watch, while urging the Minister to show cause and commitment towards the attainment of professionalism in the freight forwarding industry via an effective and efficient CRFFN administration.
According to Alhaji Olanrewaju, posterity will not forgive the Minister or stakeholders who keep quiet in the face of the emerging un-professionalism and ongoing electoral fraud.
He recalled that: “During the first governing council tenure, pursuance to section 6(2c), we made a regulation – 2010 (Annual Subscription & Other Fees). In this regards, the practitioners transaction fee (PTF) later rechristened as the Practitioners Operating Fees ( POF) was regulated accordingly. The Fee was aimed to rapidly develop and galvanize the freight forwarding profession and to place it on the global map, especially so among the comity of professionalize freight forwarding nations.
To this extend, it was resolved that, the accredited associations, will receive a yearly subvention (subject to the CRFFN management), for the sole aim of training programmes (capacity building). The subvention disbursement will be effected with consideration to respective associations numerical strength and spread across the operational zones. And such, subvention is subject to yearly retirement and auditing by the CRFFN auditors, this was agreed on, in order to foster and integrate the culture of both professionalism and accountability amongst the freight forwarding accredited associations.”
He alleged that, “when there was no constituted governing council in place, the former registrar in collusion with some ministry staff and associations’ leaders, went behind on the 26th day of February, 2015 and amended the provisions of section 9(1) of the above regulations 2010, with a caveat which reads thus: “CRFFN collects 60% as Internally Generated Revenue ( IGR), the Associations will collect 35% as provided by the CRFFN Act ( Accreditation of Associations of Freight Forwarders) Regulation -2010. The Registered Freight Forwarders/License Customs Agent ( RFF/LCA) is entitled to the 5% of the practitioners operating fee, which will be collected by the CRFFN and remitted to the concerned RFF/LCA”.
He added that, “at no time did the Accreditation of Associations of Freight Forwarders – regulation 2010 contemplate nor contained such dangerous trends excerpt perhaps to state the obvious suspicious, that, the said regulation might have been manipulated by the magic hands of the promoters”.
“The crux of the matter revolves around this premise, leading to the rampant press fireworks, the deliberate insistence, resistance and subtle threats and refusal by the leadership of the accredited associations to any suggested or reasonable professional approach in matter of election, etc originates and revolves around this financial interests”.
He also pointed out that: “The only time the accredited associations would be considered and deems fit for an administrative fee of 2 % of total CRFFN yearly income, is when the CRFFN would have successfully accredited up to 10 associations (to represents all the professional areas of specialties), then it puts up a 10-year seal for further association’s accreditation”.
He explained further that the 10 associations will eventually transmute to the Nigeria Federation of Freight Forwarding Associations.
According to him, the CRFFN is expected to “package the 10 accredited associations to transmute into the Nigeria Federation of Freight Forwarding Association ( a pending regulations has already been articulated to this effect, awaiting ratification and official gazette), which will be seconded to represent Nigeria in the global regulatory body (FIATA) and change the prevailing status quo, where the CRFFN is holding brief for Nigeria in the FIATA register”.
Going further, he said, “let me strongly posit here that, the civil servants seconded into the Governing Council in the first and second governing council insisted then, that, since the CRFFN was interpreted as an agency of the government by the Attorney General of the Federation, at no time must government be seen as sharing its revenue with an individual or corporate body, perhaps this maxim seems no longer in place”.
Olanrewaju also noted that: “The registration of non-practitioners as mercenaries merely for winning elections negates the provisions of item i to iii of the CRFFN Act as published. The non- application of the said provisions during registration exercise, prompted by an election into the Governing Council and non-publication of true, verified and certified active practitioners; deregister notice and lists of non-compliant practitioners ahead of an electioneering process is a deliberate compromise.” “Association Owners/Leadership Resorts to Selects Forwarders that are royal to them, as was reported that, some of them co-opted and compelled some of their members to pay millions of naira in other to secure their nomination ticket to represent their Associations in the Governing Council. Few of them in their open remarks taunted that, there is always a return on investments.
He traced the origin of the default to the 2012 governing council election, noting that for the Amaechi to turn his eyes the other way and pretend not to notice this anomaly is a contradiction of the change mantra of the government in which the minister is an inner caucus player.
“As at 28th January, 2012, out of the over 5,000 application uploaded into the CRFFN portal, a total number of 1,435 Individual Membership and 445 Corporate membership and 2 freight forwarding associations were duly verified/ accredited, inducted and certificated ( counter signed by me), at the maiden induction of freight forwarders held at the main auditorium, University of Lagos, Akoka on Saturday 28th January, 2012, thereby marking the formal establishment of the Register of Freight Forwarders for onward administration.
“ It was also reported that, soon after the election, the registers of freight forwarders drops drastically, on account of non annual subscription in the subsequent years, till another election year, leading to membership data fluctuation, inconsistency and poor data keeping with regards to “real time comprehensive register of freight forwarders” that can be presented or accessible at any given time. This is an outright abuse of professional regulation and maintenance of professional register.”
According to the ex-council chairman, the violations of the electoral guidelines have been with the deliberate connivance of those presently running CRFFN.
“Item ‘1a to c’ above is evidently compromised, when and where the CRFFN management failed to control the internal crisis still lingering in one of its supposed regulated, accredited association. The present scenario in the industry, suggests that, the regulated now decides the future of the regulator, this is a sorry state, as there is no end to this scenario, especially so in the face of the electioneering process and setting.
“The present scenario in the industry suggests that the regulated now decides the future of the regulator, this is a sorry state, as there is no end to this scenario, especially so in the face of the electioneering process and setting.
“I urge the Hon Minister to settle down and take a second look at the electioneering process, otherwise, it will be regarded as looking the other way when so many compromises and issues are going wrong with the agency under your supervision.
Looking the other way or feigning ignorance of it will be tantamount to official nonchalance towards the freight forwarding profession which will be premised or construed as your lack of knowledge of the roles and importance of the freight forwarding profession.”
He lamented the avoidable delay in registering qualified associations and warned that the present lackadaisical official attitude by the ministry and CRFFN may lead to industrial unrest at the point stakeholders cannot continue to accept the systemic distortions and rip off.
He said: “As presently constituted the number of unaccredited associations by the CRFFN is far greater than the five accredited associations, and under such arrangements, industrial peace cannot be easily guaranteed. It was for the avoidance of these dangerous trends and for reasons of fostering adherence to professional conducts and integrity that the first and second governing council leadership was very careful with this type of financial patronages to associations.
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“Mostly so, because the possibility of the unaccredited associations coming together to join issues with the CRFFN management may be likely, hence, the need to nurture regulation that will engender industrial peace, other than sacrificing the peace we so much canvassed on the altar of poor regulatory efficiency, thereby leading to further setbacks.”
He also averred that it is unethical for the CRFFN “to designate its registration portal (for both new membership and annual subscription registration activities) to an interested party (association Secretariat) during an electioneering process, whereas the CRFFN has a conducive and functional office complex in Lagos and other zones.”
The ex-chair CRFFN also chided the Minister for his alleged disinterest in gender balancing in the affairs of the CRFFN.
He said under Amaechi’s watch, the number of women in the governing council of the CRFFN ahs reduced from five to only two.
He said: On gender balancing in the management role of the council Olarewju said, “On a lighter note, I must also emphasis here, that the role of women in a professional governing council leadership cannot be over emphasized. As such the minister is hereby encouraged to emulate the former minister, Yusuf, who in making his appointment included reasonable number of women into the Governing Council, during the first and second governing council.
“Under your watch from 2018 to date, only two women are seen contesting an election, while the aspect of increasing women inclusion by appointment seems not encouraging.
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