Failure to carry out earlier scheduled screening exercise for contestants into the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) Board by the electoral committee has left doubts in the minds of Freight forwarders regarding the credibility of the election process
The Screening exercise which was scheduled for 21/22 September,2021 at Rockview Hotels Apapa was put off without notice to the affected candidates or their associations.
In his reaction, the Assistant General Secretary of National Association of government Approved Freight forwarders (NAGAFF), Fwdr. AFAM Chukwura who frowned at the ineptitude of the Committee, however said NAGAFF not minding the lacuna have continued undeterred with the CRFFN registration exercise of their members in all their chapters in the Western, Eastern and Northern Zones.
Fwdr. Chukwura disclosed that the association has embarked on the sensitization and mobilization of its members towards the exercise and urged the Electoral Committee to ensure transparency, honesty and credibility election process.
”NAGAFF is fully ready and prepared for the elections. We are mobilising our members, we are sensitising them, giving them necessary education and enlightenment as regarding the elections.
”NAGAFF, we are ready. As a matter of fact, you know that CRFFN, is our house baby, it’s our child, it’s a brain child of NAGAFF and NAGAFF cannot allow CRFFN to die or allow anybody to pull down CRFFN. So we are ready to make everything that will make CRFFN to succede and that includes this election. That’s where we are as an association.
“We are looking on the CRFFN themselves and the ministry who have taken over the role of conducting the elections against what it should be, looking up to them to get their axe together . If they speak a date, let that date be the date because what we have seen in the recent past is summersault of date.
He further harped on the need for them to come up with workable guidelines and date for both the screening exercise and the election proper.
“They fix date for screening, our members get there for screening, they will not see the officials to screen them. These not does not speak well for purpose of management or integrity of elections. They are not good signs for credible elections as we would expect”, Afam opined.
On the number of their already registered members, he said, “well, I think I will leave that till the day of the election. Well, like I said earlier, we have more numbers than anybody because it is our child.
“Election or no election, everybody who wants to practice in this Industry should be a professional. He should go through trainings and courses. It’s only here in this Country that someone just jpef from nowhere and said he is a freight forwarder or practitioner. You are suppose to be certified and that’s what NAGAFF has been preaching. As you know, we have an academy that can train you and certify you and you become a freight forwarder. You don’t just come and say you are a freight forwarder. You should first go through trainings and tutorials, that’s what we are talking about.
“Without elections, years back, we have been training people, encouraging them to register and be members of CRFFN , because this is the body, authorized by an act of the National Assembly to regulate freight forwarding practices and operations in Nigeria. So, if we the people who started this, who push people to register with CRFFN, on your own, your guess is as good as mine, you can imagine the amount of membership we have in CRFFN.”
Reacting on CRFFN ability to deliver a credible election with all that is happening currently, NAGAFF Scribe said, “to start with, government should not, when I say government, I mean the Supervisory Ministry, Ministry of Transportation, we have said it time without number that if you want to talk about where CRFFN should belong in terms of supervisory role, it should be Ministry of Trade & Investments, that’s where the sector should be, butin any case, the government has said it the Ministry of Transportation, what can we do? We keep preaching, we keeping talking let the right thing be done. But the in-tricks we have seen, the scheduling of date and cancellation of dates, put another date, cancel again. You rolled out a guideline, people are trying to comply and work with, then you rolled out an updated deadline which you have not even circulated well for people to know. So all these things begin to raise questions. But like I said earlier, I don’t want us to rush into conclusions, let us hope and believe that we will come out with a credible elections , whoever is organising it, but in long run, the result will speak. All of us will be there to see it. The days are not fat.They have shifted the date again. We will work with it. We are ever ready as an association, as NAGAFF. W are ever ready, we are watching them and whatever the leg they come with, we dance their tune.”
