Oladipo Bolade (Assistant National Sec, ANLCA)
As far as ANLCA is concerned, we have made our intention known and dissociated ourselves from the call to boycott the verification exercise of the CRFFN, we members of ANLCA will go ahead and verify as at when due because we don’t have anything to hide. If you say you have an office in a place, you should be able to say this is where I work or if you are working with a company, you should be able to defend it, if you are a degree holder and it is not verified, how can they know, verification is done everywhere and unless people have ulterior motives, I don’t see anything bad in the exercise. We as an association are professionals and we believe in professionalism, therefore we have dissociated ourselves from all those people.
It is a matter of principle; an association entails people of like minds coming together. As advocates of professionalism, we should be happy to work towards the verification exercise being successful, apart from that we should know ourselves better, your office and the company you work for, all this are vital information because on the long run we are thinking of how we would become chattered as it is obtainable in other professional bodies.
Celestine Okafor (Clearing agent)
The fact that you applied into an organization does not automatically make you a member, there are conditions you have to go through before you become a member, you have applied online there is need to show physically what you have applied with, even if the customs wants to give you a license today, you must have a business and an office this is to ensure that you don’t just be a freelance agent or a common tout.
So far so good, I am satisfied with the Council because if you don’t have a solid foundation, you cannot have a solid building, we can see that the council wants to have a solid foundation and part of the solid foundation is to know who and who are members of the council, some people may decide not to join but that is their own personal believe, but I believe anybody who knows he has anything to do with freight forwarding should get the verification done.
Tunji Obagbo (POTMAN)
I believe that verification of freight forwarders is part of the regulatory functions of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria, they are their to determine who have the qualification to be a freight forwarder, so the verification is the confirmation of declarations made by the freight forwarders. I believe there is nothing wrong with that, it is after declaration that you go ahead for physical examination, an illiterate can not go about impersonating a literate person.
Assuming I am a primary six holder and I tell you that am a degree holder, if I don’t come forward with my certificates, who is going to ascertain that my claims are right? It is a very simple and straight forward issue, if there is no hidden agenda, you should be very free to go and do the verification.
Francis Ezem (Maritime journalist)
The federal government created the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarders in Nigeria (CRFFN), through an Act of the National Assembly. After the enactment of CRFFN in2006, the CRFFN has gone ahead to temporarily register some of those who applied. After registration they want to verify those that have been registered. It is normal that information is supplied for that purpose. There is little difference between registration and verification. It is CRFFN’s statutory functions to those agents, those who are fighting against verification appear to have skeletons in their cupboard. If they are sure that the information they have supplied about themselves is correct, why won’t they submit themselves for verification and be dully registered under the new Act. I think they are just making trouble out of nothing by refusing to be verified. I don’t see anything wrong with it. If I were onboard CRFFN, I will not allow the crisis to persist. It is a matter of understanding. It is a matter of enlightenment. You have to substantiate you claims. It is in the line of the mandate of the council to professionalize and sanitize the industry. The CRFFN should educate the freight forwarders that there is no sinister motive behind the exercise. It is just a normal documentary process so that in case of anything, the CRFFN should be able to stand up and say this is our member, we have registered him and verify him we attest to his character.
Eugene Nweke (NAGAFF national president)
In the first place, I want to correct the impression that there is crisis between CRFFN and the freight forwarders. I can assure you that there is no crisis. What we have in place is disagreement in principle of what the Act really says. Some sections of the Act talk about election for membership, so the freight forwarders said that before some further decisions are taken, that those people should be there so that when policies are been taking it will have a collective representation of freight forwarders rather than allowing the few.
So freight forwarders are saying let us sit down and talk. Even if you have not registered us come let us talk. So it is not a crisis it is just a matter of disagreement on principle of application. We are one family, why should we be in crisis. So what you saw as an outcry is an invitation to dialogue. Even when we are trying to put things aright, you guys from the press will be misrepresenting us before the outside world, it is not like that. The council is a new concept and it wants to checkmate the ills that have existed. So let us come out of this quagmire of fighting, we are not fighting. So my happiness is that freight forwarding council has come to stay.
Barrister Fred Akokhia (NAGAFF legal adviser)
On the face of it, there is nothing wrong in calling for people who have applied to come for verification in so far as the application was done on the basis of information that was supplied to the council. If the verification is meant to authenticate all that information, there is nothing wrong in that. The only concern I have with the verification and authentication is the kind of stringent conditions that are being placed on it. For instance, as it concerns verification of corporate members, I’m of the opinion that the requirement is rather too stringent and to all intent and purposes, it may be counter productive. A lot of things that are not relevant were included in the requirement for the verification. The manner they want to go about it seems to leave a lot to desire, for instance, telling freight forwarders to leave their base which is Apapa to come to Trade Fair Complex and line up, I don’t think it is dignifying to queue up under rain and sun. I think they should find a more IT- compliant way of doing it. There should be an independent way of doing it. I think they should understand the burden of responsibility that is upon them which is to professionalize freight forwarding and make it a dignifying profession like any other body and I don’t think the right way to start it is subjecting the freight forwarders to indignity. With the number of people that have applied I don’t think hat one week will be enough for them to do it. Do you know what one week out of a freight forwarder’s time is? They should find a better way of doing it. Again, I’m of the opinion that CRFFN should be able to trust major associations in the industry enough t use them.
Ted Omojuwa (Importer)
I think the intention of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) to verify the documents submitted by the freight forwarders should be applauded. CRFFN must take the decision based on the antecedents of the freight forwarders most of whom have enmeshed themselves in fraudulent practices at the ports. Are you telling me that those agents who are daily practicing MO (Machine Outside) can change overnight? It is not possible. Go to Tin Can Island Ports, go to PTML, and other port areas, it is the same story. I think the verification exercise is necessary if CRFFN must remain relevant. The other time, an agent disappeared with my container and thank God, he was intercepted by the men of the Federal Operations Unit (FOU). The man is now being detained at State CID for prosecution. Are you telling me if this kind of person is registered, he will not dent the image of CRFFN? However, the complaint I’m getting is the stringent measure being applied. They should find a way of making it more dignified. The verification is necessary.
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