Mixed reactions have continued to pour in following last week’s meeting attended by leaders of all the registered freight forwarding associations on the need to revive the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding of Nigeria (CRFFN) ,which is current in comatose.
Practicing freight forwarders are pessimistic about the revival of the council, saying that the ministry of transport has a vital role to play before the council can get back to its feet.
Mixed reactions have continued to pour in following last week’s meeting attended by leaders of all the registered freight forwarding associations on the need to revive the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding of Nigeria (CRFFN) ,which is current in comatose.
Practicing freight forwarders are pessimistic about the revival of the council, saying that the ministry of transport has a vital role to play before the council can get back to its feet.
A cross section of practitioners who spoke with Shipping Position Daily in Lagos yesterday noted that the meeting by the leaders of the registered associations under the council came at a time when the situation has gone from bad to worst.
Deputy National President, Maritime and Intermodal Transport Services, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) Mr. Ugochukwu Nnadi said that without the minister’s intervention, it will be difficult to revive CRFFN.
Nnadi said even a body that was constituted by the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, last year has not added any value to efforts to revive CRFFN. He described the last meeting held by leaders of the various freight forwarding associations as just an illusion.
He said that the convener of the meeting must be applauded for the initiative, but predicted that nothing good will come out of the assignment of the seven-man committee set up at the meeting.
The NAGAFF chieftain expressed pessimism that the council would bounce back because effort by the minister of transport has not been able to revamp it.
‘’It is going to one year now that the minister of transport set up a board to oversee the council and up to this moment nothing has happened, then if they could not do anything how do you think that somebody from outside will be able to revive the council, Nnadi asked.
In a similar reaction ,a port activist Comrade Pius David noted that without the intervention of the minister, the effort of the committee will not achieve its purpose, even as he described the committee’s assignment as ‘’ abortion before pregnancy’’.
He noted that in such instances, the government through the minister of transport has a very important role to play, adding that without his contribution and support, the committee can only struggle to get the council back on track.
‘’ If all the leaders in the various freight forwarding associations decides to come together to revamp CRFFN and the minister of transport is not involved, then I think it will never yield result. The seven-man committee set up recently to find ways to reinstate the council is coming at time when things have gone from bad to worse”.
‘’ Even if they eventually resurrect the council without the ministry’s intervention it will still fall again, thus there is the need for the federal government to take a decision on how and when it intend to revive CRFFN because it was established by an Act of parliament which is legal and binding among freight forwarders”, advised.
‘’And in all of these the interest the government must be protected. Since they have realized that it is important to resurrect the council, I think the people must be of paramount importance to them rather than individuals if eventually they are able to revamp the council.’’, he affirmed.
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