THE Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has criticised the appointment of a six-man Governing Council members for the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), describing it as contravening the provisions of the Act establishing the Council.
President Muhammadu Buhari, had earlier this year announced the appointment of Hon. Donatus Ozoemena, Benson Edo, Abubakar Tsanni, Sen. Bisi Oyewo, Mr. Hassan Jonga and Otunba Moshood Tijani as members of the CRFFN Governing Board adding that the Chairman will emerge after election by the freight forwarders as the Act stipulates that the Chairman must come from the elected freight forwarding practitioners in the Council.
But in an interview with our correspondent in Lagos, the National Publicity Secretary (NPS) of ANLCA, Dr. Kayode Farinto disclosed that the appointment was supposed to be made after elections must have been conducted for the freight forwarders from amongst whom the chairman of the Council would emerge adding that their appointment was supposed to reflect the six geopolitical zones of the country as spelt out in the Act.
Farinto, figured that somebody may have misled the President into making appointments that were against the spirit of the Act setting up the Council as the appointments were devoid of freight forwarding practitioners except for Otunba Moshood Tijani, who he said was the only practitioner in the appointees.
According to him, “There is supposed to be an election before the government will now make their own appointment and their appointment is supposed to reflect the six geopolitical zones. The government can also appoint based on institution, so but the appointment that is made now is contradictory to the Act and there is no eureka in that area. We are hoping government will look into that area.
“We want the President to know that somebody has misled him and it will be working against the Act 16 of 2007. What is the intention of the government on this Act? It is to regulate the freight forwarders, you made five or six appointments, only one person is a freight forwarder and even the appointment is against what the Act said but Mr. President may not be aware, somebody must have misled Mr. President and I am sure that by the time he gets our letter, he will reverse the appoinment.”