ANLCA, NAGAFF, NCMDLCA, others should merge into one group — Nweke

Dr Eugene Nweke, a former President of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), has called for the merging of freight forwarding groups in Nigeria, citing present issues and crises in the industry.

Recall that the freight forwarding and Customs brokerage groups include the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), NAGAFF, National Council of Managing Directors Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), African Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics in Nigeria (APFFLON) among others.

Speaking with newsmen recently, Dr Nweke noted that the best advocacy freight forwarding associations can employ to effectively tackle the challenges in the freight forwarding sector is to unite as a single amalgamated National association.

In his words: “We must understand the concept of unionism. We must also understand the concept of collectivism and what a professional association is all about. They sound the same but they are not the same thing. With what is happening in the port today, the best advocacy we can do is to unionize ourselves. This is because the regulatory council that is supposed to give direction is not effective. So the best thing associations can do is to unionize themselves.

“One of the critical reasons the governing council and the industry is going the way it is going, beyond the issue of criticizing the governing council, there is a regulation that we have submitted that has not gone through the National Assembly for gazette. If we have gotten that, by now, it will be a different ball game.

“The proposed 2012 regulation is the amalgamation of all the accredited association and any other association that have gone through the screening of CRFFN, but not accredited; coming together and it is that amalgamation that we registered in FIATA. It is associations that we registered in FIATA, not the Council.

IN CASE YOU MISSED THESE FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

• Revealed! Details Of South-West APC Leaders Meeting With Presidential Aspirants
• Supreme Court Has Cleared Civil Servants To Participate In Politics, Falana Tells FG
• Battle For New Alaafin Begins As Ruling Houses Insist On Producing Next Oba
• Court Admits More Evidence Against Alleged Fake Army General, Bolarinwa
• I’m Every Man’s Choice Now, My DM Is Crazy —Eniola Badmus
• It Is Now Bye To Decency: Crazy Fashion Trends At Owambe Parties

“The CRFFN is only unique in Nigeria, Ghana doesn’t have a council. What they have is an institute. Most other countries in Africa actually deal with a national association and the only way we can evolve into a national association is by coming together using the policy drive of the regulatory council, which is what we have done”.

“Hakeem Olarenwaju (former CRFFN chairman) was to sign that when we came back from the Senate, so by now, we should be talking about the amalgamation of all freight forwarding associations, then we will go and remove the name of CRFFN from FIATA. After doing that, when we meet in our freight Forwarder Consultative Council to discuss our problems where every actor is involved and we make a policy statement, we would have our respect. But if we continue to allow CRFFN to represent us at FIATA, how many of us in Nigeria still go to the regional conference of FIATA? We have just only a few individuals.”