Founder of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, in this chat with Shipping Position Daily Newspaper last week, talked about the restriction of vehicles from the land borders as well as on port operations in Nigeria. He also told our correspondent; Roland Ekama about his expectations from the maritime industry for 2017 and other sundry issues.
“What I have seen now is that CRFFN lacks the capacity due to non-composition of the council”
I think the best way to start this interaction is to known what are your expectations about the maritime industry for 2017?
My expectation about the maritime industry for2017 is that our ports operations should be value- adding in terms of efficiency, effective services, and cost-friendly; and for us to achieve these set objectives, the road map should be to embrace professionalism with respect for rules of engagement and also rule of law. In addition, the need to enforce and implement regulations with a view to achieve compliance must be of essence this time around. The ports in 2017 will become productive with a view to attracting cargoes and foreign investors. We therefore wish to submit that the core values in its vision and mission is to enhance efficiency, customer satisfaction, safety and security and among others to be very innovative. In order to achieve these set objectives and values, it is charged with the responsibility to develop, own and operate ports and harbours, and to provide safe and navigable channels including offering cargo handling and storage services. Others shall include but not limited to maintenance of ports facilities and equipment, ensure safety and security to human and material as well as develop and own properties. It is of great concern that these set objectives and core values could not be achieved thereby hindering port development and failed operational efficiency which resulted in inefficient ports services and competitiveness, but rather became a conduit to drain the meagre national resources.
What is the state of the current National President of NAGAFF because we learnt that after the official inauguration as president; he has travelled out for medication again?
The NAGAFF President has travelled to USA for his final medical check- up; he is currently receiving treatments over there in the USA. However the administration of NAGAFF is still intact; the Deputy President and the National President are communicating effectively on the affairs of the association, therefore there is no cause for alarm.
The president of NAGAFF did mention shortly after the inauguration that members would work in ensuring that the association gets a befitting secretariat. Considering the recession and hardship in the country, do you see as a reality?
Once there is life there is hope and I disagree that the country is static. Nigeria is moving forward, it’s a general thing and of course recession or no recession, the President has spoken and he will work with his team to make that process achievable.
How can you react to the recent courtesy visit of the MD of NPA to NAGAFF, considering the fact that she is the first Chief Executive of the NPA to ever visit the headquarters of this association?
It is most unfortunate that some of the past leaderships of the Nigerian Ports Authority ran aground the inherent benefits of our country. The emergence of the present leadership of the Nigerian Ports Authority is apparently blazing the trail to work with the critical stakeholders to achieve the set objectives of the Government. We in NAGAFF are touched by the visit of Hadjia Hadiza Bala Usman to the headquarters of NAGAFF as part of efforts to engage critical stakeholders in dialogue, with a view to partnering and finding solutions and returning our ports to their past glory. It is on record that the Director General of Standards Organisation (SON), NAFDAC, NIMASA, the Nigeria Airports Authority, National Inland Waterways Authourity and even the Comptroller General of Customs never thought it wise to move out to confer with the freight forwarding organized groups on the best way to overcome compliance problems which have hitherto engulfed export and import regulations of the Nigerian international trade. The resultant effect of the self-serving attitude of most Government officials in our maritime trade and transportation may have led to most of the inconsistent trade policies in our industry. On this note, we want to thank and appreciate Hadjia Hadiza Bala Usman of the Nigerian Ports Authority and Barrister Hassan Bello of the Nigerian Shippers Council for finding time to confer with the stakeholders on matters relating to their statutory duties and responsibilities to the people. We also appreciate the DG of NIMASA who had received various stakeholders who had at one time or the other paid him visits to discuss matters of access to the sea, safety of life at the sea and pollution. He still needs to move out and meet with the people and find out how they are faring.
What is NAGAFF’s position on the restriction of vehicles from land borders?
The position of NAGAFF is very clear on the subject; because we will always support the directive of Mr President .We in NAGAFF completely agree with the decision of the Federal Government to restrict importation of rice, pharmaceutical products and vehicles from the border entry points in the interest of revenue and health of Nigerians. However, we believe there is the need to grant waiver to vehicles in transit to Nigeria based on time of importation prior to the directives restricting their importation through the land borders in line with the relevant Sections of the Customs laws. There are no good reasons or superior arguments why Government will restrict importation of trade goods like rice, pharmaceutical products and most recently vehicles from the approved entries of the border stations of Nigeria wherein the agents of Government are duly positioned to carry on with their statutory duties. As a very strategic organization in maritime transport, we are saying government did not ban vehicles from Nigeria; rather it restricted vehicles from coming into Nigeria through the frontiers. I must go further to say that a lot of us are mixing up issues, because Benin Republic is a sovereign state and we need to know in shipping business that cargoes coming into Nigeria must be on transit from foreign country and until you understand the proceedings of cargo carriage, it might be strange to you. To go further, the ECOWAS treaties have been abused. Government did not ban importation of cars to Nigeria; they only ask you to bring cars through the seaports. I am also surprised to hear that people will lose employment on account of this restriction, because the freight forwarders who operate at the border can operate within all entry points and all that the talk about job loss is strange to me.
What is your reaction to the exodus of some members of the Oodua Maritime Forum?
The good thing is the provision in the constitution of Nigeria, which is freedom of association; therefore they are just expressing their right. However before the exodus, if I may follow your word, the chairman airport chapter of NAGAFF is a Yoruba man, so also the national president of NAGAFF and even the KLT chapter chairman are all Yoruba men. So there is a lot of Yoruba men in NAGAFF and with this exodus, I am sure that they might have seen the quality of NAGAFF and I am sure that Yorubas are good when it comes to perfection and intellect and we have them in NAGAFF as well. Another reason again has to do with regulation of licensing by the customs and of course thus a freight forwarder does not necessarily need customs license to operate because a license customs agent is basically a secondary freight forwarder. So a freight forwarder is an individual who has capacity to handle goods across the world. It is like our sister association is taking Oodua as a pressure group under ANLCA, whereas the group is standing on its own, just like Igbo Maritime Forum and Arewa Maritime Forum and they have reasons to associate with NAGAFF.
You recall that the Minister of transport directed all freight forwarders and licensed customs brokers to register with CRFFN, up till now; there has been no positive action to that effect, what is your view on that?
The Minister of transport does not have powers to give that directive because CRFFN is a regulatory agency of the government under the transport ministry. CRFFN is a compulsion for us (the practitioners) to register with, just like we discussed earlier about the prospect of 2017, which has to do with enforcement of regulation, but what I have seen now is that CRFFN lacks the capacity due to non-composition of the council. Supposing we are coordinated in port operations in terms of CRFFN administrations, there is no way you can enter the ports except you are a card carrying member of the council, because the Act is automatic which gives you opportunity to enter the port because it’s a regulatory agency. The council is not properly composed and so it’s a problem.
It appears Increase Uche is the next president of NAGAFF after the reign of the current President who is Ebenezer Oluwole Adeyemi, kindly tell us what inform that decision?
You are not a member of NAGAFF therefore it will be difficult for you to understand what we do in NAGAFF. However, Increase Uche will understudy the current president of NAGAFF and that is how the system has been since inception of our association.
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