As if they anticipated it and already had a prepared
response, leaders of some freight forwarding associations have poured venom on the immediate past national president of Association of Nigeria
Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA); Sir Ernest Elochukwu.
Their grouse is that he claimed that the Council for
Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) is ‘owned’ by the ANLCA.
In quick succession, the Founder of NAGAFF; Dr Boniface
Aniebonam and the a chieftain of Association of Registered Freight Forwarders
of Nigeria (ARFFN); Mr Innocent Elum have called Elochukwu (and his ANLCA) names.
While it’s true that Elochukwu made the ‘volatile’
statement, while campaigning for a seat in his association‘s Board of Trustees,
does it make it accurate?
Elochkuwu’s justification for his association’s ownership is
that (in his understanding), ANLCA members control most of the customs licenses
through which they secured their membership of CRFFN.
Even if this claim is true, has he forgotten or doesn’t he
know that, membership of CRFFN is not for customs license holders only. The
sooner ANLCA and its members understand and accept the fact that CRFFN is for
freight forwarders, and not ‘clearing agents’ only, the better for them.
Even if it is true, can an agency that is created by an Act
of the Nigerian National Assembly ‘belong’ solely (as if it were a property) to
a group? The answer is NO.
The CRFFN which is established
by Act No 16 of 2007 was statutorily established to superintend affairs of
freight forwarders and freight forwarding associations.
Apart from ANLCA, and AREFFN and
NAGAFF, there is also the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed
Customs Agents.
CRFFN is neither a ‘property ‘of anyone or any group. It is
a ‘property’ of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
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