The controversial transaction fee that was approved by the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar for collection by the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) has been suspended by the minister.
Although there were two angles to what might have led the minister into taking the decision to suspend the collection, sources confirmed that some forces considered to be ‘outsiders’ caused the minister’s action.
The controversial transaction fee that was approved by the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar for collection by the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) has been suspended by the minister.
Although there were two angles to what might have led the minister into taking the decision to suspend the collection, sources confirmed that some forces considered to be ‘outsiders’ caused the minister’s action.
Shipping Position Daily learnt last week that shortly after the minister’s approval, the Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service; Alhaji Diko Abdulahi Inde wrote a protest letter to the minister of transport in which he reportedly expressed strong opposition to the directive.
However, another source at the ministry of transport explained that apart from the protest from Customs, the minister became highly embarrassed and uncomfortable with the face-off between some freight forwarders and their regulatory agency; the CRFFN over the issue.
They confirmed that the letter that was written by the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) also contributed to the suspension.
However, our correspondent was told on Friday that the minister may have taken the decision to allow the feuding parties to resolve their differences.
The suspension was confirmed by the chairman of the governing council of CRFFN; Alhaji Hakeem Olanrewaju.
The CRFFN chairman also confirmed to our correspondent that an emergency meeting of the governing council will likely hold this week, but he refused to disclose what the meeting will deliberate upon.
Shipping Position Daily recalls that ANLCA has been having a running battle with CRFFN over the sharing formula which the CRFFN was disposed to adopting.
It was confirmed that, while the CRFFN governing council proposed that 20 per cent of the total collection should be shared among the five registered freight forwarding associations as annual subvention, ANLCA wanted a larger chunk in addition to not been favourably disposed to calling it subvention, but statutory allocation from proceeds of the collection.
It would also be recalled that at least three members of ANLCA had gone to court to seek redress over the action of CRFFN which they perceived as unfavourable to them.
At a meeting of the association’s Board of Trustees (BoT) which held last week in Lagos, the association’s national president’s approach to the lingering face-off over collection and sharing of proceeds from the recently approved practising fees was also unanimously endorsed . The meeting was presided over by the BoT vice chairman, Aare Sani Shitu.
A copy of the resolutions that were reached at the meeting and which was made available to ouir correspondent said that: “the management of ANLCA through the vice chairman board expressed unflinching solidarity and support for Mr. President over the able manner he has been conducting the affairs of our great Association, especially as it concerns the face off with CRFFN, on collection of transaction fees in the Ports and Border stations.”
The meeting also reportedly, however advised that the president should “keep his doors open for further negotiations if need be, and report back to the house, if he deems it necessary.”
The association BoT mandated its national president to step up the fight against CRFFN, even as it resolved that “if all attempts to resolve the current issues with CRFFN on collection of transaction fees/sharing formula fails, the president is mandated to go to court to seek redress, on behalf of ANLCA.”
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