By Steve Agbota
African Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics in Nigeria (APFFLON) has kicked against alleged gang-up by freight forwarding associations against the Transport Ministry’s directive to open up the governing Board elections of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) to individuals.
The President of APFFLON, Mr. Frank Ogunojemite, while reacting to a meeting of all registered associations under the CRFFN
Recall that the groups on Monday, agreed to have a sharing formula that would see the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) get six slots, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) six slots; National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA) picks one, Association of Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (AREFFN) gets one and the National Association of Freight Forwarders and Airfreight Consolidators (NAFFAC) gets one.
At a meeting for all freight forwarders and customs brokers under the aegis of All Freight Forwarders Forum (AFF), practitioners unanimously agreed to the arrangement even as they resolved to ensure only those candidates that emerge from associations are eligible to be voted for in the polls.
However the APFFLON boss, in a press statement issued today, described the development as a gang-up against the Transport Minister’s directive on the CRFFN elections.
According to him “Are they saying people registered as individual members of CRFFN or on the basis of companies should vote or be voted for? The outcome of that meeting yesterday is obviously a hang-up against the initial ministerial directive to have the positions open to everyone registered with CRFFN either as an individual, a company or an association.”
He argued that if the position of the five CRFFN accredited associations is allowed to hold, it could be the beginning of anarchy in freight forwarding practice in the country.