Minister of Marine & Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola

A maritime expert and former President of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders NAGAFF, Dr Eugene Nweke has written to the Minister of Marine & Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola over the comatose state of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding practice in Nigeria CRFFN, describing the situation as worrisome.

Created by the CRFFN Act 16,2007, the Council, which was originally intended to be an independent private sector regulatory agency, was later re-designated by the Federal Government as an agency under the then Federal Ministry of Transport. It is charged with the responsibility of regulating freight forwarding practice by issuing licenses, setting operational procedures and standards, training and retraining of practitioners and also imposing sanctions on erring practitioners, among several others.

In a letter dated October 14, 2024, Dr. Nweke, who doubles as Secretary to the Customs Consultative Council CCC, drew the attention of the Minister to the poor state of the all-important regulatory agency of the government, as it has remained dormant under his watch more than one year after the ministry was created and he was appointed to head it.

He noted that the letter was intended to be a candid and professional advice devoid of apportioning blames but rather aims at proffering the way out of the present dwindling and stagnant state of the CRFFN presently under his supervision.

He further listed some of the faulty administrative structures of the Council that have made it difficult for it to function optimally as was intended by the founding fathers, which include the wrong categorisation of the Council as an agency of the Ministry of Transport through a sponsored legal interpretation of the CRFFN Act 16,2007 by the then Attorney General of Federation instead of an independent professional regulatory council.

Other faulty administrative structures include the creation of excess offices/staffing, over bloated Governing Board membership of over 30 members as against the eight -10 members as obtained in similar organisations globally, problem of political Interest overriding professional interests courtesy of geo -political representations by core politicians without core professional knowledge, too many agencies represented on the governing board and electoral process into the governing board structured in a manner driven more by selfish and political interests devoid of professional interests.

Other factors include government’s interests and interference in the determination of the board chairmanship elections outcome thus, bringing about a professional council being headed by a noncore practicing professional, poor funding structure, which should have required just government occasional financial intervention/ assistance, as against the current quick fix and politically induced full yearly budgetary allocations in place.

Also listed was the down-playing of other professional standard means of revenue generation, weak and poorly funded enforcement operations, embarking on gigantic physical structures above the maintenance capability of the Council, the decision to lump Income from the Practitioners Operating Fees POF into the Single Treasury Account TSA, and its inaccessibility by the Council management as at when needed.

It was further gathered that the acquisition of expensive fleet of vehicles, which characterise statutory and fully established agencies of the government, instead of a prudent professional regulatory council and the re-designation of the CRFFN as a veritable revenue generating source for the government, thus, defeating its professional intent, among others with the attendant high cost element from allowances and sundry expenses.

According to him, the CRFFN should operate like its counterparts across the globe such as the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations FIATA, National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America NCBFAA, British International Freight Association BIFA, Freight Forwarders Association of India FFAI and Australian Freight Industry Association AFIA, among others.

He further noted that the structure of the board of the listed bodies comprise a chairman and eight-10man board not 30 members while the secretariat is managed by an Executive Secretary and five-seven members of staff not the over 200 obtained in CRFFN even as the technical committees are made up of three-five committees with five-seven members and over 10 committees with over five members per committee, among several other inhibiting lapses.

“Hon Minister, this is modest, volunteered professional obligation, aimed at proffering the way out of the present dwindling and stagnant state of the CRFFN, presently under your supervision.

“It is therefore this intent without prejudice, and carefully articulated solutions in a manner that is devoid of pointing accusing fingers or belittling any one or group. Rather, it is a candid professional suggestion herein proffered for the attention and consideration of the Honorable Minister.

“These frameworks of standards provide a benchmark for establishing a professional freight forwarding regulatory council. Though, applicable adjustments can be made based on industry specific peculiarities, there is need for maintaining stakeholders’ feedback.

“Permit me to reiterate once again that for a professional freight forwarding regulatory council to be effective, a sustainable funding model and efficient administrative mechanisms and standards are crucial.

“Finally, this is a professional clarion call to the Honorable Minister to intervene in the state of the CRFFN by instituting a deliberate administrative policy to reform or restructure the Council and reposition it for professional and national wellbeing in line with the professional regulatory standard framework suggested above. In addition to this clarion call, it is important to that the Honourable Minister calls for an action, whereby, most of the CRFFN staffers will be reassigned and absorbed by other agencies of the government.”