Dr. Boniface Aniebonam

BY FRANCIS EZEM

Ahead of his earlier 2019 date, the founder of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders NAGAFF Dr. Boniface Aniebonam has announced his decision to quit the association to pave way for younger professionals to take full charge.

The founder had initially scheduled to leave the association in 2019, which he later changed to November 29, 2018.

While speaking with some newsmen at the weekend, Aniebonam announced his decision to officially disengage from the day-day running of the association effective November 29, 2018, which coincides with the occasion of the Freight Forwarders Day to make this decision public.

He disclosed that the Freight Forwarders Day, which will henceforth be an annual event, will be used to celebrate the immeasurable contributions of freight forwarding professionals not only to the supply chain but also Nigeria’s economy.

It was gathered that Aniebonam, who at one time resigned from the day –day running of the association had to return when he discovered that things were not working well and decided to launch a comeback to right all the wrongs, which has just been achieved.

On the outcome of the election into the governing board of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding Practice in Nigeria CRFFN, he said that he was satisfied with the outcome of the election, which saw the entrance of many NAGAFF members into the council for the first time.

He also said that the association is still consulting on the emergence of the chairman of the council, who was taken from outside the industry, which many operators had alleged  was an imposition by the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, which they also argued contravened some sections of the CRFFN Act.

“We are satisfied with the outcome of the CRFFN election and I as one have a feeling of fulfillment, having ensured that NAGAFF is fully represented by making sure that our members were elected even for the first time.

“NAGAFF as a group is still consulting and studying the circumstances under which the chairman of the council emerged. May be that is the only way the council will enjoy stability since the chairman is not a member of any of the two major associations and so that might make the chairman neutral and thus bring about stability, which is good for the council as a whole”, Aniebonam also said.

He therefore urged all the elected members of the council to speak with one voice not only in the interest of freight forwarding practice but also those of the shipping industry and Nigeria’s economy as a whole.

Meanwhile some stakeholders who commented on the decision of the founder to quit the association he singlehandedly founded and funded, commended his statesmanship, saying such gesture singles him out as a true democrat.

The stakeholders also commended him for his vision, foresight and doggedness, which have seen the association to its current enviable level and therefore charged other leaders to emulate this gesture by desisting from the seat-tight syndrome of many leaders in Africa.