The Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), on Wednesday, in Lagos State outlined the sharing formula for its proposed N5 billion seaport revenue generation.
Addressing maritime journalists in his office, the Registrar of the CRFFN, Barrister Samuel Nwakohu, revealed that the Council has integrated its operations with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), stating that very soon, it will also delve into the Nigerian aviation sector by integrating its operations with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
According to Barrister Nwakohu: “Some of you might have heard me complain in public events about inadequate funding towards the running of the CRFFN. My overhead cost to run the CRFFN every month is N2.7m, and it is not regular.
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“But when I assumed office in February of 2019, there was a project on ground called the Practitioners Operating Fee (POF). The POF is one of the various avenues for raising Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
“After the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the POF, we started the process of integration with NPA, Customs and the NCAA.
“We were also able to get the Minister of Transportation to give approval that payment of POF will henceforth be a precedent for cargo clearance at the ports. On the 6th of January of 2019, ministerial approval was granted and we set out for sensitisation on the 7th.
“The sensitisation process included informing stakeholders in the logistics chain business that the POF is not.going to be a manual set-up but an automated arrangement where our technical partners, S. W. Global will be collecting the payment on our behalf.
“For every container that wants to exit the ports, evidence of POF payment must be shown or such containers won’t be allowed to leave the ports.”
On how much is expected from the POF on an annual basis and how it will be put to use, the CRFFN Registrar stated that: “The system we have put in place is self-enforcing. We don’t need people to wear uniforms and demand for POF payment. If POF payment is not paid, no container will leave the ports.”
On expected revenue from the POF, the CRFFN Registrar stated that: “The full business case that the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) prepared projected N5bn annually, but with the technology that we have on ground, we know we can surpass that amount.
“How we will use the revenue? 25 per cent of the revenue will go into the Federation account towards nation-building, while the claimant is encouraged to keep 30 or 35 per cent. The remaining 40 per cent will be shared between the S. W. Global and the CRFFN. S. W. Global will get 20 per cent while CRFFN gets the remaining 20 per cent.
“That is why we keep saying this arrangement is a win-win for everybody. The 20 per cent that accrues into the purse of the CRFFN will be used to train the Practitioners and run the Council.”
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