The Registrar of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), Barrister Sam Nwakohu has shredded the recent claims by some members of the governing council regarding their tenure.
He said such claims to a four-year tenure by such council members is null and void, while emphasizing that the tenure of the current governing council members is over.
Nwakohu speaking exclusively with our correspondent last week insisted that there is no ambiguity in the CRFFN Act and as such members of the governing council should stop flying the kite of four years’ tenure. He argued that the CRFFN Act stipulates a two-year tenure for all council members, be they elected or appointed.
Recall that Shipping Position Daily had reported last week that some members of the governing council are insisting on four-year tenure as against the usual practice of two years, while claiming that it is only the Minister of Transportation that can asked them to step down.
The Chairman of CRFFN Education and Training Committee, Kayode Farinto, had specifically insisted that only the Minister can ask the elected members to step down, while insisting that the Act stipulates four years for elected members and two years for appointed members.
However, speaking to our correspondent, the CRFFN Registrar informed that plans were already underway to conduct fresh elections into the governing council, while stating that the Act is very clear as to the tenure of the governing council members.
He told Shipping Position Daily that, “the CRFFN Act is very clear, I am a lawyer before I came here, so there are certain things that are not ambiguous, yes I have read the varying interpretations that have been given to the provision of the Act, I am aware that some members claim that they have four years’ tenure, others say two years, but my understating is that it is two-year tenure for everyone”.
Explaining further, he said: “If you read the Act, section two states that, so I see no ambiguity at all, so their tenure is over, I start counting from the day they were sworn in, and not when they were elected”.
According to him, the council is already working out modalities for fresh elections into the governing council. “The election is on the drawing board, we are working on it, I don’t have a specific date yet, because I have to clear with all the parties involved that will conduct the election, so it is on the drawing board”.
Also commenting of the tenure of CRFFN governing council members, a freight forwarder, Mr Chidi Anthony Opara accused the council members of resorting to mischievous misinterpretation of the CRFFN Act. He sent a message to one of our correspondents.
According to him, “the Act under reference, established a Governing Council made up of 17 appointed and 15 elected persons as members of the Council. The Act provides also a two-year tenure which commences on inauguration by the Minister of Transportation”.
He lampooned the embattled members of the CRFFN board of erroneously claiming that the Act stipulate a two-year tenure for the appointees and a four-year tenure for the elected members.
He argued further that, “there is nowhere in the Act in which it is stated that there would be different tenures for the elected and the appointed members. It is clearly stated in the Act that the tenure of the Governing Council members for every session is two years. The current session of the Governing Council was inaugurated by the Minister of Transportation in October 2018 for a two-year tenure. This means that the tenure has elapsed,
“So any actions, etc taken by the current session of CRFFN Governing Council will be considered null and void and to no effect.”, he added.
