NAGAFF Drills CRFFN On POF Calls For Its Suspension
NAGAFF Drills CRFFN On POF Calls For Its Suspension
*CRFFN not in existence- Dr.Aniebonam
By Frank Odinukaeze
Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria CRFFN,were on Tuesday at NAGAFF Headquarters in Apapa subjected to rigorous scrutiny as members of the association bombarded the Council with questions and complains.
Members were particularly irked by the failure of CRFFN’s to organize trainings for the freight forwarders ,even when there were promises to that effect ,and the huge controversies surrounding the remittance Port Operations Fees(POF) of five percent to freight forwarders and associations by the Council.
Meanwhile ,the founder of NAGAFF ,Dr.Boniface Aniebonam has declared that the CRFFN is not in existence because of the Council’s inability to make its presence visible and regulating the operations of the freight forwarders.
The NAGAFF founder made this emphatic declaration during a visit of the Ministry of Transportation and the Council to the NAGAFF Headquarters on Tuesday.
CRFFN on their own claimed they have remitted a five percent declarant payment for six months to all compliant freight forwarding associations and individuals.
However,this claimed was roundly faulted by the freight forwarders under the aegis of NAGAFF,who maintained that they are yet to receive any payment from CRFFN for over two years of paying POF to the the Federal government.
The founder of NAGAFF, Dr Boniface Aniebonam noted that the Ministry of Transportation is more interested in the collection of POF,and generating revenue for the government thereby neglecting the challenges in the freight forwarding industry.
Aniebonam who went down the memory lane to recall how the CRFFN came into being and the purpose of its establishment lamented that the CRFFN which is pseudo-agency meant for the regulation and control of freight forwarding has been hijacked by the federal government.
He alleged that the collection of POF by CRFFN is a fraud, as many freight forwarders and even his personal freight forwarding company is yet to receive any payment from the Council since its inception and enforcement of POF payment.
Aniebonam who was visibly unhappy with the way the CRFFN has handled not only the POF ,but also the issues involving freight forwarders, however urged the Federal Ministry of Transportation to ensure the full implementation of the CRFFN Act,which according to him will resolve all challenges currently experienced by practitioners
Dr.Aniebonam charged CRFFN to deregister freight forwarding associations who are not paying their annual dues and registration.
His words,”The Transport Ministry in the guise of working for government has seen the amount involved in the approval and collected the POF. We cannot collect it from them again until the court makes a pronouncement. That is the truth. The Transportation Ministry is more interested in POF, because it has to bring revenue to the government.
“I move cargo. My company is Ocean Star and nobody has paid me one naira in the name of either an individual or corporate. Ocean star is licensed and I am an individual member. So, I don’t know what CRFFN is saying. I think there is a big fraud going on in CRFFN”, he alleged.
Speaking earlier in his opening address, Mr Solomon D. Zaks representing the Federal Ministry of Transportation, informed that the Minister has approved a quarterly visit by the Ministry and Council to freight forwarding associations to monitor their level of compliance to the payment of POF.
He said the purpose of the visit was to have a close interaction with members of NAGAFF, so that they can air their views and articulate the challenges they face during the course of their activities at the ports.
Also speaking,Mr.Muhammed Rabiu Lawal ,Principal Enforcement Officer of CRFFN,praised NAGAFF for being up to date with the payment of POF and having the highest number of registered freight forwarders with the CRFFN.
He urged all registered freight forwarders to update their information with the Council, adding that very soon the Council will delist members whose information is not updated.
The CRFFN principal enforcement Officer ,however maintained that the Council has paid freight forwarders and associations that have been fully complying five percent of their declared POF payment from 1st of March 2021 to 31st of August 2021.
He said that 10 percent of the declared POF payments have been allocated for the training of freight forwarders while five percent will be remitted to individuals or associations.
The CRFFN official however explained that many freight forwarders have not been able to get their dividends because,” They pay and declare their POF with a third party identification”. He further stressed that with over 8000 freight forwarders who are registered with the Council, about 4000 have no association attached to their registration in the portal.
Also speaking the National Coordinator of the 100 percent Compliance Team, Alhaji Ibrahim Tanko ,argued that the payment of POF should be suspended.
This is even as the association has petitioned the Council to be transparent by providing verifiable records on how the funds were disbursed and remitted to appropriate freight forwarders and their associations.
In an interview with Deputy National President Seaports,Chief Afam Chukwuma, he declared that the CRFFN has failed and failed woefully in terns of failing to regulate the enforcement of the POF itself.
He noted that the ,”Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) ,is proactive,the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) is proactive but CRFFN is not ”
” They have failed to regulate freight forwarding practice and that has made it difficult to differentiate professionals from quacks” he stated.
