Exclusive: CRFFN Stops NAGAFF’s Compliance Team

— plans to form Central Body for all freight forwarding associations.

Funso Olojo

The Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria(CRFFN) has directed one of its affiliate associations, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders(NAGAFF) to put on hold the activities of its 100 percent compliance team pending the restructuring and reintegration processes by the Council in line with its regulatory objective.

Also, this was to enable the council conduct professional tests on the members of the team.

It could be recalled that NAGAFF, at an elaborate ceremony last week Friday, unveiled its 150-member compliance team which is to ensure full compliance with the extant guidelines on cargo clearance procedures by all the players in the cargo clearance chain with a view to checkmate any abuse in the process.

The team is expected to commence operations from the March1st, 2020.

But the decision to halt the operations of the Compliance team formed part of the resolutions arrived at an extra ordinary emergency meeting of all the leadership of the accredited freight forwarding associations convened by the governing council of CRFFN.

However, the Chairman of the governing council of CRFFN, Alhaji Tsanni Abubakar, in a statement exclusively obtained by our correspondent, said the activities of such compliance team need to be streamlined in tandem with the regulatory functions of the Council.

The Council chairman however commended the leadership of NAGAFF for the initiative while urging the leadership of other accredited associations to emulate NAGAFF by setting up similar compliance teams to tackle operational challenges.

Alhaji Abubakar disclosed that the CRFFN Committee Chairman on Monitoring Enforcement and Compliance has been directed to conduct a professional tests on members of the Compliance or TaskForce Committees set up by NAGAFF or that may be set up by other accredited associations.

“On Compliance or TaskForce Committees formed by the Accredited

Associations, the Council duty is to set standard for best of practices, regulate and moderate such practices where and when necessary to foster industry disciplines and harmony.

“To this direction, the leadership of various Accredited Associations who has course to set up compliance committees to tackle operational challenges are duly commended, especially the management of NAGAFF.

“However, such Committees have been directed to put on hold their activities pending the restructuring and reintegration
processes by the council in line with its regulatory objective.

“The CRFFN Committee Chairman on Monitoring Enforcement and Compliance has been directed to conduct a professional tests on members of the Compliance or TaskForce Committees”

Alhaji Abubakar revealed that at the extra ordinary emergency meeting, it was also resolved that the Council shall immediately commence a regulatory process to pave way for the formation and registrations locally and internationally of the FEDERATION OF FREIGHT FORWARDING ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA.

“This body shall among other objectives, serve as the central and unified voice of the Freight Forwarding Associations. It shall upon coming on board be a stronger global representative aligning the Freight Forwarding Associations and practitioners in Nigeria to the comity of Freight Forwarding Nations, especially the FIATA”

The decision to form a central body for all the federating associations, according to the governing council chairman, was to check the incessant misrepresentation of the freight forwarding profession by the media.

Other resolutions reached at the meeting include:

that the Council shall direct its registration Committee to commence visitations to all the Accredited Associations Secretariats.

” The Committee shall in consultation with the council’s management develop the reevaluation and re-assessment templates, criteria through which the requirement for retaining the Association Accreditation shall be; the Governing Council shall adopt and act on the report and recommendations by it.

“On Association Categorization: The Governing Council shall consider in its next general executive meeting, the steps Associations Categorization should follow as prerequisites, conditions and qualifications for categorization, which for now is being preserved for administrative convenience but will be made public at the appropriate time.

” On Corporate and Individual Membership Registration, the meeting agreed that it is important to reiterate that, the provision of the Act is clear on practitioners whose names are not found in the CRFFN Register of Freight Forwarders.

“For emphasis sake, It is an offense to practice or been seen as a freight forwarder when you are not properly registered.

“The Council shall approve for the last time a grace period for non-registered freight forwarders which shall be communicated by the Council Registrar.

“Similarly, any practitioner reported by his/her clients or any other critical stakeholder for professional misconduct should be prepared to face the tribunal”

The governing council expressed its appreciation to all the federating associations over their overwhelming support and cooperation with the council on the commencement of POF collection.

It was however gathered that the emergency meeting was in deterrence to the directive from the Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo directing the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to ensure compliance to the Ease of doing business among the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, MDA’s, which put ease of doing business in the Freight Forwarding subsector of the Maritime economy under scrutiny.