Election:   We will Stick To CRFFN Act  –  Ajani              ….Resolve Sharing Formula issues within two weeks

Dr Ajani made it clear that the Ministry is going to stick on the provisions of the CRFFN Act in the decentralization of the election, participation of those registered freight forwarders who do not belong to any of the established registered associations.

”We have listened to the last speaker and heard him say elections should be decentralised. elections should actually happen simultaneously in the three Zones and the Act provides that the fifteen freight forwarders that should be in the Council have to be equally represented by their zones.  So, five from each of the three  zones and we are going to stick to the Act.

”We have also listened to freight forwarders who do not belong to the associations, making a case that they should be allowed to contest the election. The4 Act does not stop them from contesting the election,” she concluded.

On the alleged hiring of non freight forwarders to vote during the forthcoming CRFFN elections, the Perm Sec said, ”The Ministry has presented the guidelines for eligibility to vote and be voted and if we are in a system of democracy, we will need to respect that.. I can see that in the screening voter’s form, there is a provision for the name of the voter, the registration number with the CRFFN, the evidence of your payment of your annual subscriptions for at least two years because that will make you really a practicing freight forwarder, address of your freight forwarding business and the zone you belong to whether it is Eastern, Western, Airport or whatsoever.”.

“We want to  say that we have agreed to walk as one indivisible freight forwarder and Customs broker in CRFFN. We sat together to say that the election of freight forwarders into CRFFN, that we actually agreed that there will be election and that associations must have an input on whatever decision in our Council giving  that we are just  unaloof of this truths concerning our Council ,
“Then we came together to say that we want to do election, the association has to be involved . There are two areas 9f representations in our CRFFN.(1) individual and (2) corporate body and most importantly, the association. And CRFFN in its own way gave accreditation to 5 associations. Last time we held an election on areas of cementing our relationship by having each association having a number of people that were  representated and these people will now go for the election.  And this is why we are having the mandate here,” they opined.

.On their part, the Association of registered freight forwarders in Nigeria(AREFFN) through its President Bala Daura  said the sharing formular is unacceptable the them, arguing that even though they accepted it during last CRFFN elections due to the prevailing circumstances, but that such cannot continue hence the association has grown larger, spread to other zones and as such did not sign the five associations position document presented to the Permanent Secretary..