Why Amaechi must avert looming freight forwarders chaos, by former CRFFN chairman
By Fredrick Wright
The Minister of Transpiration, Rotimi Amaechi has been urged to urgently intervene in the perceived manipulated electioneering process of Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) in other to avert the looming crisis in the maritime sub-sector.
Formal Governing Council Chairman, CRFFN, Aare Hakeem Olanrewaju, in an open letter to the minister, urged him to show cause and commitment towards the attainments of professionalism in the freight forwarding industry via an effective and efficient CRFFN administration.
It reads: “I have course to write this second press release for the attention of the Hon Minister of Transport, Rt.Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, by so doing, putting it on record.
“I did so because, I know too well the level of commitments, selfless sacrifices deployed to attain the milestone achievements recorded by the members of the 1st & 2nd Governing Council , stating so in my capacity as the formal Governing Council first Vice Chairman in the first Governing Council and Chairman of the second Governing Council of the CRFFN, neither conscience nor posterity will be fair to me, to wittiness the way and manner our professional essence (i.e. the regulatory council) is drifting at an alarming speed and state, and to keep mute and watch in the face of a thriving professional recklessness and impunity to say the least will amount to leadership failure on my path.
“In view of this, may I once again, draw your attention to the following:
- Causes Of A Seeming, Endless Rancour Amongst The Practitioners:
Foremostly, let me put it on record that, the persistence clamour by the accredited associations in their 6:6:1:1:1 sharing formula quests over and in preference to a credible professional electioneering process, stems from the following background and contemplations:
a. Notably, during the first governing council tenure, pursuance to section 6(2c), we made a regulation – 2010 ( Annual Subscription & Other Fees). In this regards, the practitioners transaction fee (PTF) later rechristened as the Practitioners operating fees – ( POF) was regulated accordingly.
b. The Fee was aimed to rapidly develop and galvanize the freight forwarding profession and to place it on the global map, especially so among the comity of professionalize freight forwarding nations.
c. To this extend, it was resolved that, the accredited associations, will receive a yearly subvention (subject to the CRFFN management), for the sole aim of training programs (capacity building). The subvention disbursement will be effected with consideration to respective associations numerical strength and spreads across the operational zones. And such, subvention is subject to yearly retirement and auditing by the CRFFN auditors, this was agreed on, in order to foster and integrate the culture of both professionalism and accountability amongst the freight forwarding accredited associations.
d. Surprisingly, when there was no constituted governing council in place, the formal registrar in collusion with some ministry staffs and associations leaders, went from the behind on the 26th day of February, 2015 and amended the provisions of section 9(1) of the above regulations 2010, with a caveat which reads thus: “CRFFN collects 60% as Internal Generated Revenue (IGR), the associations will collect 35% as provided by the CRFFN Act (Accreditation of Associations of Freight Forwarders) Regulation -2010. The Registered Freight Forwarders/License Customs Agent (RFF/LCA) is entitled to the 5% of the practitioners operating fee, which will be collected by the CRFFN and remitted to the concerned RFF/LCA”.
e. At no time did the Accreditation of Associations of Freight Forwarders – regulation 2010 contemplated nor contained such dangerous tends excerpt perhaps to state the obvious suspicious, that, the said regulation might have been manipulated by the magic hands of the promoters.
f. The crux of the matter revolves around this premise, leading to the rampant press fires works, the deliberate insistence, resistance and subtle threats and refusals by the leadership of the accredited associations to any suggested or reasonable professional approach in matter of election, etc originates and revolves around this financial interests.
g. Let it be put on record that, the only time the accredited associations would be considered and deems fit for an administrative fee of 2% of total CRFFN yearly income generation was when the CRFFN would have successfully accredits up to 10 associations (to represents all the professional areas of specialties), then it puts up a 10 years seal for further associations accreditation. And then, package the 10 accredited associations to transmute into the Nigeria Federation of Freight Forwarding Association (a pending regulations has already been articulated to this effect, awaiting ratification and official gazette), which will be seconded to represent Nigeria in the global regulatory body FIATA and change the prevailing status quo, where the CRFFN is holding brief for Nigeria presence in the FIATA register, as promised.
h. As presently constituted the number of unaccredited associations by the CRFFN are far greater than the 5 accredited associations, and under such arrangements, industrial peace cannot be easily guaranteed.
It was for the avoidance of these dangerous trend and for reasons of fostering adherence to professional conducts and integrity that the first and second governing council leadership was very careful with this type of financial patronages to associations. Mostly so, because the possibility of the unaccredited associations coming together to join issues with the CRFFN management may be likely, hence, the need to nurture regulation that will engender industrial peace, other than sacrificing the peace we so much canvassed on the altar of poor regulatory efficiency, thereby leading to further set backs.
i. In addition, let me strongly posit here that, the civil servants seconded into the Governing Council in the first and second governing council insisted then, that, since the CRFFN was interpreted as an agency of the government by the attorney general of the federation, at no time must government be seen as sharing its revenue with an individual or corporate body, perhaps this maxim seems no longer in place.
j. May I at this juncture implore the Honorable Minister to use his good office to avert looming professional chaos ahead, talking in the realm of futuristic.
k. Analysis of vested interests in the 35% yearly income allocation to the association, will be articulated and forward to your attention, after investigation.
- Noticeable signs trailing the dangerous trends caused by the 35% revenue allocation to the accredited associations by official regulatory amendments.
A. Association Owners/Leadership Resorts To Selects Forwarders that are royal to them, as was reported that, some of them coopted and compelled some of their members to pay millions of naira in other to secure their nomination ticket to represent their Associations in the Governing Council. Few of them in their open remarks taunted that there is always a return on investments.
B. CRFFN Regulatory Aims, Goals And Functions Were Compromised:
As provided in Section 4 of the Act 16, 2007, and noted in the published CRFFN CORPORATE BROCHURE, that:
- The goals and aims of the CRFFN amongst others includes but not limited to:
- a Regulating and controlling the practice of freight forwarding.
b. Regulating and controlling the associations of freight forwarders.
c. Regulating and controlling persons who are engaged in freight forwarding.
d. Determine the persons or classes of persons who constitute Freight Forwarders for the purposes of this Act.
e. Determine the standards of knowledge and skill to be attained by persons seeking to be registered as Freight and raising those standards from time to time in accordance with international industry practice.
f. Securing, in accordance with the provisions of this Act, the establishment and maintenance of registers of person entitled to practice as registered Freight Forwarders and the publication from time to time of the list of such persons.
g. Embark on continuous certification of freight forwarders.
h. Creat membership development toolkit ( Continuous Professional Development – CPD).
i. Ensure uniform standards of education, training and professional conduct of practitioners.
- Compromises Are Obviously Manifest Or Noticeable In The Following Areas:
a. As at 28th January, 2012, out of the over 5,000 application uploaded into the CRFFN portal, a total number of 1,435 individual membership and 445 corporate membership and 2 freight forwarding associations were duly verified/ accredited, inducted and certificated (counter signed by me), at the maiden induction of freight forwarders held at the main auditorium, University of Lagos, Akoka on Saturday 28th January, 2012, thereby marking the formal establishment of the Register of Freight Forwarders for onward administration.
Wherefore, item 1c to i above was compromised as reported in the media, thus:
i. The registration of non practitioners as mercenaries merely for wining elections negates the provisions of item i to iii of the CRFFN published: Requirements for individual registration and certificate of experience issued by an employer under section 20 of the CRFFN act 16, 2007.
ii. The Non application of the said provisions during registration exercise, prompted by an election into the Governing Council and non publication of true, verified and certified active practitioners and deregister notice and lists of non compliant practitioners ahead of an electioneering process is a deliberate compromise.
iii. It is an act of deliberate compromise for the CRFFN to designate its registration portal (for both new membership and annual subscription registration activities) to an interested party ( association Secretariat) during an electioneering process, while the CRFFN has a conducive and functional office complex in Lagos and other zones.
iv. It was also reported that, soon after the election, the registers of freight forwarders drops drastically, on account of non annual subscription in the subsequent years, till another election year, leading to membership data fluctuation, inconsistency and poor data keeping with regards to “real time comprehensive register of freight forwarders” that can be presented or accessible at any given time. This is an outright abuse of professional regulation and maintenance of professional register.
v. Item ‘1a to c’ above is evidently compromised, when and where the CRFFN management failed to control the internal crisis, still lingering in one of its supposed regulated, accredited association.
vi. The present scenario in the industry, suggests that, the regulatees now decides the future of the regulator, this is a sorry state, as there is no end to this scenario, especially so in the face of the electioneering process and setting.
vii. Other instances of compromises abounds, but for the sake of time and space.
Olanrewaju continued: “Before I pencil down, I must also, posit that, by urging the Hon Minister to settle down and take a second look at the electioneering process, otherwise, it will be regarded, looking the other way when so many compromises and issues are going wrong with the agency under your supervision.
“Looking the other way or feigning ignorant of it will tantamount that your nonchalance towards the freight forwarding profession is premised or construe as your non conversant with the roles and importance of the freight forwarding profession cum practitioners to the nations economy.
“Furthermore, on a lighter note, I must also emphasis here, that, the role of women in a professional governing council leadership can not be over emphasized, as such the minister is hereby encouraged to emulate from the formal Minister Yusuf, who in making his appointment included reasonable number of women into the Governing Council, during the first and second governing council, in the past, we had list of reputable and seasoned civil servants, whose immense roles and contributions in advancing our regulatory obligations can not be measured nor quantified during the first and second governing council and they are:
- Mrs Chinwe Ezenwa – Rep. FMOT.
- Mrs Anne Mkpor. – Rep. NPA.
- Mrs Vincents Rep..FAAN.
- Mrs Dabney Shaholma. Rep. NSC.
- Mrs A. Bidy – FF Rep.SS..
“Today, under your watch from 2018 to date, only 2 women are seen contesting an election, while the aspect of increasing women inclusion by appointment seems not encouraging.
“Finally, I want to beg the Hon Minister to show cause and commitment towards the attainments of professionalism in the freight forwarding industry via an effective and efficient CRFFN administration.
“Your Excellency, Sir, please ensure you leave a worthy legacy at the end of your almost seven years stay in the office as a minister of transportation, especially in the freight forwarding subsector of the maritime industry. As far as we are concern, you have the will and the will is yours. Once, again help to avert looming chaos ahead,” he stated.
