Founder of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders; Dr Boniface Okechukwu Aniebonam in this interview with Shipping Position Daily’s Roland Ekama spoke about the controversial transaction fee and other issues associated with it.
Do you support that the practicing fee should be collected by the CRFFN?
Founder of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders; Dr Boniface Okechukwu Aniebonam in this interview with Shipping Position Daily’s Roland Ekama spoke about the controversial transaction fee and other issues associated with it.
Do you support that the practicing fee should be collected by the CRFFN?
The Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) is the regulator of freight forwarders in Nigeria and its mandate is quite specified in the Council’s Act. They cannot be seen to be acting outside the law, we are not in a Banana Republic, so the issue of support or no support is immaterial, it is irrelevant. What we are talking about is the law, the law that set up the council, it is all about nomenclature, they have their mandates and it is a healthy council of freight forwarders which is basically attached to a supervisory ministry that is the transport ministry.
It is obvious that ANLCA is taking the lead in the battle against the fee, what is the position of NAGAFF in this?
You must know that Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), and National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), are independent groups, they are licensed Customs Agents, NAGAFF is a freight forwarding association, we are related, we are also sister organisations, if they have gone to court to seek redress that is quite democratic, I think it is a good development that we need to test the Council’s Act, not forgetting that NAGAFF was (some time ago) in court; trying to get some interpretations and it is quite a healthy development as far as I am concerned.
Are you satisfied with the action carried out by ANLCA through the National President?
The issue is not with Shittu, Shittu is the president of an organisation, whatever he is doing, it is on behalf of the organisation, so it is not an issue that is personal, what is interesting about it is that what they are doing today is what we have passed through some time ago. Those who are aggrieved should possibly go to the court to seek the interpretation of the Act. So if we want to speak about Shittu, we must realize that Shittu is a great man and principled as far as freight businesses is concerned and I will tell you that since he took the responsibility of ANLCA, there has been some level of peace among freight forwarding associations. Therefore it was quite commendable and appreciative.
Are you satisfied with the recent accreditation of the three associations by CRFFN?
The issue is not about whether I am satisfied or not, the issue is about the prerogative of the members of the governing Council to perform their functions and one will appreciate the fact that there are conditions for the registration of associations and if you however meet the conditions, then they should go ahead and do what is required from them to do, however the issue of whether I am satisfied with it or not, I can just simply take you to the original concept of what actually instigated the council Act, it is because of the various condemning vices in the maritime sector that tend to even confuse the government, the council is to unify all these associations.
Why must the fee to be collected CRFFN tear freight forwarders apart?
Every associations whether it is ANLCA or NAGAFF, whatever name it is being called require money to run their activities and that is when we will have to appreciate the magnanimity of the government of the federation to give us that kind of gift, not forgetting that some of us have been asking the government to create an opportunity for us to be given one percent of the duty collected , so that is a different ball game entirely because this has to do with the council and the council needed money, so also the associations. I think the effort is about bringing harmony within the system and I think everybody should be able to support that for now.
From what you are saying, it is obvious that you are in support of the subvention?
I don’t know what this question tends to portend because you cannot be asking whether someone likes money or not, why am I in Lagos? The government said please go and collect money to enable you do what you need to do in the organisation and it will be wrong for me to say it is not appreciative, then something must be wrong with me, I think we must support that from what the president of ANLCA is doing on behalf of the association. Like I tried to say, for ANLCA to have gone to court is truly a great one because we need to test the council’s Act in order to get it right. Let me tell you, if I truly want to be frank with you, the first governing council has derailed the council completely, that is just the truth and nothing, but the truth because the truth is that many of these people that were found in that council did not meet the original intendment of the council and to a large extent, they tend to have messed up with so many things where issues, but I think the good development now is that the current leadership of the council for instance you can see that NAGAFF was fully registered, we recall that the first council refused to register NAGAFF and what are their reasons? They never made any sense. But to some extent, as at this moment, about three other organisations have been registered because that is what the council has failed to achieve; to unify all these people. I think we can do better if we all work in unity and we need to take our place in the committee of other professionals in Nigeria, this has nothing to do with the agitation of ANLCA.
What are your expectations in the forth coming CRFFN elections?
I wouldn’t say much, but what I can tell you is that those mistakes or those fraudulent ways of election malpractices will never be tolerated this time around , the last election was a crazy one, it was total madness, the result of it is what we are seeing today because what one could not understand is that a council that is a private council, a council that is our council that the first council to a large extent tend to portray to be a parastatal of ministry of transport, it was a total blunder, that does not mean that the government should not have hand in what you do, because everything in Nigeria belongs to the government but it has limitations and that is why the areas where the transport minister has relevance is limited.
What is your reaction to the insinuation that the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents is a baby of NAGAFF?
If you consider them to be a baby of NAGAFF, who are we to throw them away, that is you are adding more accolade to us but I think they are not, the council of managing directors is duly registered like every other organisations and it is an independent association but if you give them to us, we will not run away from that and we will appreciate.
It is already being said that it is the CRFFN subvention that is pitching freight forwarding practitioners against one another
Let me say something here, from my vintage position, let people not see the president of ANLCA, Olayiwola Shittu as being personal in this issue of collection of practicing fee, Shittu is a great leader and he needs the support of the freight forwarders and licensed customs agents. I am speaking as a veteran, somebody who founded NAGAFF; I know what I have gone through for the past 11 – 12 years. ANLCA for instance has had various past presidents; it was only when Shittu came into the leadership, that there has been some level of harmony in the system because the sky is too large just for one bird, so why do people worry themselves? But this issue of fee, I think I will advise that at this moment, because I have been trying to reach the president of ANLCA, he is my very good friend so that we can put things together, whatever the issue could be, so that we can resolve it amicably, we must not forget that it is an association issue and sometimes associations’ issues are not always resolved like that, it is something that people need to sit down. I think we will come to solve this problem as fast as possible and I know that we will get the cooperation of the president of ANLCA.
From what you have just said, is it not right for an association to fight for a just cause?
They are at liberty to do so against CRFFN, and what is then the big deal. I told you it is quite interesting because the Council’s Act has been breached severally and that is why we needed to support the current leadership of the council who is making every effort of seeing some levels of unification. I appreciate and understand what Shittu might be going through, for if you really go into Shittu, he is not the kind of person that would have been talking about court or no court, however he’s a leader and has to do what his people want him to do especially in the area of trying to test the Council Act because I am a proponent of that. As far as I am concerned, we can get the best of the council if we really understand the council act. You can imagine that the first council members were using FGN plate numbers while some were using coat of arm, it is a blunder, some of those mistakes they made that time, you can see that you are going to pick money from the appropriation bill, do you have to do that, the government can give you the first grant to take off, we should be able to generate our own money. It is because we have all these problems among us, we don’t need all these approvals that we have been seeking from one place to the other. The Council members, when they sit and take decisions via the recommendations made by the freight forwarders consultative forum, we will just inform the minister that this is what we are going to do because the council belongs to us, it is not an arm of the government, even if it were an arm of the government, Mr President should have appointed the chairman of the board, but our chairman is an elected chairman, so that will tell you that the council has nothing to do with the government because the government has so many things to do rather than disturbing themselves with the issue , but you see some of us may have shot themselves in the foot because some of these imbalances or breaches in the council is because some group of people thought that NAGAFF was a big threat to them. I can tell you out rightly that those who call themselves members of ANLCA as they claimed have hijacked the council through fraud because they do not know much about the council, then they will not be able to manage the council, that is why you see all these breaches. So in the next election, definitely we will give the opportunity for the right candidate to take the responsibility in the council and then we will begin to give the council direction as far as I am concerned. Like I told you, I have no interest in the special position in the council; I am one of the initiators of the council and for me I have concluded the assignment to have lifted the veil by making sure that the Act went to the National Assembly, I think it is quite a big gift that people like myself, the president of ANLCA that is Shittu himself, Zebulon Ikokhide, Mfon Usoro, Galtima Liman, these are the people that actually empowered the council, but I think the leadership of the council right now is in the right direction, and they need the support of every one of us to get things working. I repeat myself, that a group of people might have gone to court to challenge themselves in the issue of transaction fee, they are at liberty to do that and the court is there to sit on the matter, they will make a pronouncement, that is the way to clear issues but as I said that sometimes some of these things are not resolved in Court and I want to believe that in due time, I will be able to talk further with the president of ANLCA so that we can sit down to resolve some of these issues, that shows the level of maturity amongst us.
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