By Kenneth Jukpor & Deborah James
In a bid to drive effective regulations around freight forwarding in Nigeria, the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) and the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) have agreed to establish a joint committee to address regulatory issues.
This agreement was reached when the Acting Registrar of CRFFN, Mrs. Chinyere Uromta led a management delegation of the Council to the headquarters of ANLCA in Lagos, on Wednesday.
At the meeting, freight agents expressed their displeasure on several freight forwarding challenges; ranging from the handling of the Practitioners Operating Fees (POF), non-repayment of declarant fees, poor visibility and engagements with practitioners, among others.
To address these challenges, it was agreed that a joint-Committee comprising members of both organizations will be established as the committee is expected to enhance the regulatory synergy between the agency and the association.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Uromta, elaborated on the need to deepen professional development and capacity building during the official visit, stressing that the core mandate of the Council is to professionalize the freight forwarding sector by developing standards, providing education and training programmes for freight forwarders.
“In 2020, the Council determined the minimum qualification required to practice freight forwarding in Nigeria which is the FIATA Diploma in Freight Forwarding and Supply Chain Management or its equivalent. These programmes qualify you to practice freight forwarding in Nigeria. We equally have the Executive Professional Diploma (EPD) programme which serves as an executive pathway for Certificate of Experience as provided in the CRFFN Act. The main purpose of the programme is to validate the experience and update the knowledge of Executive Officers in the freight forwarding sector through an intensive one week residential programme,” she said.
Uromta, however, assured that the leadership of CRFFN is aware of the huge outstanding remittances of the payment of declarant fee; even as she outlined some challenges.
On his part, the President of ANLCA, Chief Emenike Nwokeoji, encouraged the Council to be more intentional in its commitment to engaging freight agents, describing the meeting as a step in the right direction.
Nwokeoji observed that ANLCA was yet to receive any reimbursement on declarant fees for associations, while he equally lamented that as declarants, members of the association are also being owed.
“Personally I know what it took me when we were fighting to establish CRFFN years ago. I stumbled on a draft of the CRFFN Act and we made input. We sent for the then Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and fought until it went to the National Assembly and we were there to defend the CRFFN Act. But the moment the agency came on stream, some people came as vultures and claimed to be the owners of CRFFN,” Nwokeoji remarked.
CRFFN’s visit to ANLCA headquarters concluded the agency’s tour of its registered associations, while the Acting Registrar assured continuous engagements with the various groups and swift disbursement of declarant fees.
