6th Dec. 2023
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE HON. MINISTER OF MARINE AND BLUE ECONOMY, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, Mr.Gboyega Oyetola,
Through,
The Office Of The Registrar/C.E.O. Council for Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN)
Dear Hon. Minister Sir,
I hope this letter meets you well.
I am a Nigerian and a registered freight forwarder writing on behalf of concerned freight forwarders and facilitators of Practitioners Operating Fee (POF) in cargo clearing value chain, to draw your attention on the need to urgently address the failure of the council’s management to live up to their statutory obligation by implementing their own side of the bargain in the agreement they signed with freight forwarders on payment of POF.
I believe it is important to bring this matter to your attention as it requires immediate action to forestall impending uprising.
The Practitioners Operating Fee (POF) was introduced with the aim of generating revenue for the Council’s administrative/operational efficiency especially, in the areas of capacity building, training of freight forwarders, as well as practitioners’ welfare. However, the Council has unfortunately failed to achieve any of these goals as it continues to scoop revenue from every exiting cargo on daily basis.
It appears that the current management team of the Council is highly inefficient and lacks the capacity to properly harness the potentials of this noble idea, thereby creating confusion in the entire gamut of operations.
The council’s failure to do the needful three years after the commencement of POF collection is suspicious as freight forwarders are not carried along in whatever plans and programmes they have for the sector. This is frustrating and has led to increased agitations among our members who keep insisting that if nothing is urgently done to calm frayed nerves, it could adversely affect the revenue strength of the Council.
More worrisome and dangerous is the current REGISTRAR’S inability to routinely dispatch the Enforcement Team of the Council as promised ab-initio in partnership with the SCUML team of the EFCC, to check the level of economic sabotage going on in the POF collection at different cargo terminals, especially, APAPA and TINCAN PORTS where the large chunks of revenues are collected by the Council but are extravagantly spent and nobody is held accountable.
Considering the gravity of this situation and the urgency to address it. Concerned freight forwarders hereby issue a ONE-MONTH ultimatum, starting from the date of this letter, for the Council to rise to its responsibility and address this issues or we institute a court action against the current management of the Council.
We firmly believe that legal intervention is necessary to ensure the protection of the rights and interests of our members who have been shortchanged overtime.
Hon. Minister Sir, We kindly request your immediate intervention in this matter as we also urge you to take the following actions:
1. Conduct a thorough investigation into the reasons behind the failure of the Council’s management to pay rebates to declarants three years after take off.
2. Engage all relevant stakeholders in open conversation to update them on your findings and way forward.
3. Take immediate steps to rectify the Council’s failures and implement a more efficient and reliable solution that addresses the challenges or possibly set up a new team within the Council or an adhoc team of select practitioners to enforce and oversee the management of POF. “We are available and willing to support the Council if it is overwhelmed in this regard”.
4. Ensure transparency, fairness, and accountability during the payment to eliminate favoritism or any form of corruption in the process.
We strongly believe that by taking swift and decisive action we can forestall an impending violent protest by Concerned freight forwarders and restore the efficiency and transparency needed in the POF regime.
And Failure to address this matter within the stipulated time frame will leave us with no option than to proceed with legal action to seek an injunction against the current management.
We appreciate your attention to this critical issue and look forward to your prompt response and action as we firmly believe that through collaborative efforts, we can bring about positive changes and ensure a more efficient and effective CRFFN for all stakeholders in the freight Forwarding and logistics sub-sector under the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.
Once again, thank you for your attention, understanding and anticipated cooperation.
Yours faithfully,
Fwdr. Chukwunonso Michael.
chukwunonsomichael71@gmail.com
For:
The Coalition Of Concerned Freight Forwarders and POF Facilitators.
CC:
1. Permanent Secretary,
2. The Chairman and Members of CRFFN Governing Board.
