National President of Nigerian Institute of Freight Forwarders and Customs Brokers (NIFFCB) Dr. Zebulon Ikokide has called on the Nigerian Shippers’ Council to midwife the forthcoming elections into the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), saying that one association must not be allowed to dominate the council with its membership.
Specifically, Ikokide in a press release sent to Shipping Position Daily last week end feared that if the election is not properly handled, the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) would take control of the council because it has registered about 3,000 individual members for the election.
He stressed the need for crowd control during the CRFFN elections which is expected to hold on June 29, 2018 in Abuja.
He called on the Nigerian Shippers Council to step into the picture and assist the CRFFN by midwifing the elections. He also charged the council to ensure that the Registrar of the CRFFN, Sir Mike Jukwe is called to order, even as he accused the Shippers’ Council of causing most of the problems the CRFFN is currently passing through.
“At this junction, we think that the Nigeria Shippers Council (NSC) should not stay aloof, they should come out and assist to call the Registrar to order. The NSC midwife the CRFFN from its infant stage to this level, therefore, they have the right to come in and correct some of the abnormality they created under Capt. Adamu Biu and that of the present Registrar”.
“If the CRFFN elections go (sic) the way the Registrar is planning now, it will be one-sided and the reason for the establishment of the CRFFN will be thrown overboard. The CRFFN was established to integrate the freight forwarders to speak in one voice”.
“This election if not properly handled only one association especially NAGAFF will take control due to the fact that they have registered a lot of individual members well over 2,000 – 3,000. And if this happen then we will go back to square one”, he stated.
Dr. Ikokide also alleged that only NAGAFF and Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) were contacted by the CRFFN Registrar about the coming elections, whereas there are other dully registered associations and training institutes duly registered and recognized by CRFFN. He alleged that every other stakeholder has been side-lined.
In order to ensure the election is devoid of rancour, he suggested that there should be a consensus whereby the available positions and slots in the governing council are shared among the associations.
He suggested that the CRFFN should “allocate five number of person to each of the big associations; NAGAFF and ANLCA, allocate one position to the smaller associations, allocate two slots of position to CRFFN training arm-Nigerian Institute of Freight Forwarders and Customs Brokers, then the CRFFN goes to each Association and elect those numbers to represent them in the Governing Council”
“With the above arrangement, there will be no rancour and the attendant logistic problem that will arise when you take the election to Abuja. We feel that if the stakeholders are consulted in this election matter, good reasoning would prevail”, he said.
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