CRFFN Not Public Enterprise —CWCFFN

The Central Working Committee of Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (CWCFFN) has advised the Federal Ministry of Transport not to believe that the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding Practice in Nigeria (CRFFN) is a public enterprise.

A press statement titled: “Seeming fiscal fraud,” signed by the publicity secretary of CWFFFN, Dr. Frank Ukor, and sent to P.M NEWS, disclosed that CRFFN may come under administrative enquiry over alleged illegal N250 million obtained from statutory allocation of the Federal government appropriation fund.

According to the statement, “The National Assembly may have been deceived that CRFFN is a public council of the transport ministry, whereas section 10 of the first schedule of the CRFFN Act, expressly stated that holding a position in the CRFFN does not qualify a person as a public officer. The expression under section 5 of the CRFFN act, stating that the minister of transport can give direction and character of the council does not in any way confer to the transport ministry or suggest that CRFFN is a parasatal under it”.

The committee noted that it is most unfortunate that the former Minister of State for Water Transportation, Prince John Okechukwu, may have tampered with the intendment of the CRFFN Act. “It is also regrettable that the genuine advice of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council to the minister in the past administration fell on deaf ears.

At the moment, over N20 million is tied to a house which is not in use at Victoria Island, Lagos. Also, millions of naira realised from the illegal verification exercise is yet to be accounted for to members”, the statement said.

The CWCFFN noted that despite the effort of the incumbent Minister of Transport, Alhaji Sulaiman Yusuf, to moderate the direction and character of the council by appointing Mr Eugene Nweke of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Chief Festus Ejiofor of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents and Prince Olayiwola Shittu of the Association of the Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) to represent the South-East, South-South and South-West geo-political zones of the country respectively, the leadership of the council as entrenched by Okechukwu are still disrupting every genuine move to realign CRFFN for the progress and proper representation of stakeholders.