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Four out of five registered associations by the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) have entered an alliance to ensure the full implementation of the recent court judgement which suspended the collection of Practitioners Operating Fees (POF) at seaports.
The presidents of freight forwarding groups which include; Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), National Association of Air Freight Forwarders and Consolidators (NAFFAC), Association of Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (AREFFN), National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA) met on Friday and directed their members to immediately stop the payment of POF in line with the court directive.
Recall that a Federal High Court in a recent judgement ruled in favour of factional National President of NCMDLCA, Mr. Lucky Eyis Amiwero, stating that the CRFFN should suspend collection of the controversial POF from Customs Licensed Agents.
During a joint press conference at the ANLCA headquarters, the groups also admonished CRFFN, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and terminal operators not to flour the court judgement while fulfilling their roles in cargo clearance at ports.
Presidents of the four associations namely; Emenike Nwokeoji of ANLCA; Prince Adeyinka Bakare of NAFFAC; Bala Lawan Daura of AREFFN – represented by AREFFN Secretary, Chief Frank Obiekezie; and a factional President of the NCMDLCA, Chief Ifeanyi Anakweze; warned port operators to desist from collecting the POF forthwith or face contempt of the court.
The joint statement read: “We are writing to inform you of the Federal High Court judgment delivered on May 26, 2025, by Justice D.E. Osiagor in Suit No. FHC/CS/765/2018 between NCMDLCA vs. 1. MINISTER OF TRANSPORT, 2. NPA and 3. CRFFN.
“This judgment nullifies the collection of Practitioners Operating Fees (POF) from Customs Licensed Agents. As Customs Licensed Agents, we demand that you immediately cease the collection of POF from our members in compliance with this court order. Continuing to collect these fees would be a direct disregard of the court’s judgment.
“We specifically urge you to disregard the letter Reference No. CRFFN/RCEO/POF/CIRC/07/2025 dated July 10, 2025, which incorrectly advises the continued collection of POF in defiance of the aforementioned judgment. We swiftly noticed that the CRFFN letter lacks an official signature from any council official, which suggests the author was attempting to avoid impending contempt of court criminal proceedings.
“We are confident that you will uphold the rule of law in this matter”
Speaking further at the ANLCA National President, Emenike Kingsley Nwokeoji said that the court judgement, though secured by President of a faction of the NCMDLCA, Mr Lucky Amiwero, affects all licensed customs agents, and the associations will not watch idly as CRFFN tries to disobey the court judgment by directing terminal operators to continue the POF collection.
“The major issue we want to address here at the press conference is the implementation of the judgment. While we subjected the judgment to our different legal department interpretations, we now saw a release signed by management of CRFFN urging terminal operators, which was listed on the rider, to disobey the court judgment. We say no!
“This issue has gotten to the stage where it would be unfair for us to sit back and watch knowing that we are operating in a country that is governed by the rule of law. That was why we decided to hold this press conference based on the legal interpretations we have gotten from our different legal advisers of the various associations.
“It is a court judgment, once a judgment is obtained; it is either obeyed or an appeal is made. If you are not comfortable with the judgment, all the parties involved- CRFFN, NPA, Terminal Operators are all under the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy and they all have legal departments. I believe that their legal department cannot tell them to just throw away a court judgment,” the ANLCA President said.
Nwokeoji opined that the absence of NAGAFF in the joint-venture to uphold the court judgement could be attributed to the perspective that the CRFFN Registrar, Mr. Kingsley Igwe, is still seen as a NAGAFF stalwart.
Also speaking, NAFFAC President, Prince Adeyinka Bakare, said the position of the respective associations doesn’t mean they want the CRFFN to run aground, sressing that the Council has legitimate budgetary provisions to handle its obligations.
He equally observed that the court judgment applies to all customs license holders, adding that, as a freight forwarder, one cannot operate at the ports or transact business with the customs or clear cargoes without possessing a customs license.
Bakare explained that NAFFAC members, who predominantly operates at the airports, are equally subjected to other licenses from Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) among others, which any freight forwarder willing to clear cargo from the airport must possess.
On his part, the President of AREFFN, represented at the briefing by the National Secretary of the Association, Francis Obiekezie, noted that, regardless of the internal crisis within the NCMDLCA, the court judgment must be obeyed to the letter.
“Lucky Amiwero is a customs license agent. He is doing most of the things that we are doing, the court he went to is a Nigerian court; the court is not the Council of Managing Directors’ court.
“So we are following what happened, and we are principal stakeholders in the case he went to court upon, so the outcome will affect us.”
Meanwhile, a shocking twist was also witnessed as the factional NCDMLCA President, Chief Ifeanyi Anakweze, encouraged NCMDLCA members to obey the suit won by Mr. Lucky Amiwero, a prosecutor he earlier said had no recognised standing at NCDMLCA anymore.
Anakweze maintained that aside the internal rivalry in the NCDMLCA, the victory obtained by Amiwero is one that should be endorsed by all Nigerian freight forwarders.
