As part of efforts to improve the overall efficiency of Nigerian seaports, the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) are deepening inter-agency collaboration for data sharing and port efficiency.
Both agencies discussed these strategies when the Registrar of CRFFN, Mr. Kingsley Igwe, led an executive delegation of the Council to the NPA headquarters, for a courtesy visit on Wednesday.
Speaking at the meeting, the CRFFN boss, Igwe, noted that both agencies play crucial roles in the Nigerian maritime and logistics sector, stressing a dire need for partnership for seamless cargo clearance at seaports, promotion of ease of doing business (EoDB), trade facilitation in an enhanced regulatory environment, strategic trainings, among others.
His words: “Our visit today is aimed at strengthening the relationship between both agencies as we both play critical roles in ensuring seamless freight logistics and port operations. CRFFN remains committed to the professionalization and regulation of freight forwarding in Nigeria, ensuring best practices, compliance and efficiency within the sector.
“In the light of this, we seek deeper collaboration with the NPA in areas such as capacity building, data sharing, operational synergy, and policy alignment, all aimed at improving port operations and enhancing Nigeria’s competitiveness in global trade.”
The CRFFN boss, however, expressed willingness to be actively involved in the port community system, which is currently being developed by NPA as well as the National Single Window (NSW) platform.
Igwe equally commended NPA for playing a strategic big-brother role in supporting the Council amid the huge fiscal challenges plaguing the agency since its removal from federal government’s budgetary allocation.
He highlighted NPA’s commendable role in ensuring freight forwarders must have completed CRFFN registration before obtaining port pass, even as he extolled the Authority’s commitment towards creating an enabling environment for the collection of Practitioner’s Operating Fees (POF).
While welcoming the CRFFN delegation, the NPA Managing Director, Dantsoho, encouraged the agency to make intentional efforts to have its submissions in the ongoing discussions on the National Single Window.
“It is time to embrace innovations and go fully digital instead of using a paper system. Looking at the NSW framework, I would say we have attained over 97 percent preparedness by automation and digitalized processes and this is the future for the maritime industry to align with the Federal Government’s port modernization project,” the NPA boss said.
He noted that modernization and other innovative projects at the seaports, would not only enhance the nation’s port status but also enable Nigerian ports to compete more effectively within the West and Central African sub-region.
