The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Ameachi, has given his support to the move by the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) to ensure that effective from December 2019, all licensed customs agents and freight forwarders who are not registered with the Council are denied renewal of their licences by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
Speaking at a sensitization workshop on ‘Freight Forwarding as a Career’ organized by the CRFFN in Lagos on Tuesday, Ameachi said that “not even the President is above the law”.
“We will get the Nigerian Ports Authority and all other agencies not to allow those persons to function. They can only function through the law guiding the CRFFN,” he said.
According to Amaechi, the CRFFN has the mandate to set standard, build capacity, regulate freight forwarding practice and generate revenue for the government.
He commended the body for having accredited about 17 tertiary and professional institutions across the country for the purpose of freight forwarders’ education and therefore enjoined all practitioners to take full advantage of it to remain fit and competent.
Meanwhile, following the desire of the CRFFN management to float a technology-driven Uber-style trucking system within a year, the Senate Committee on Marine Transport has assured that it would make the necessary budgetary adjustments to facilitate its realisation.
Chairman of the Committee, Danjuma Goje, urged the agency to prioritise the scheme at the expense of some less pressing items, as its budget as already presented cannot be increased.
Speaking on the plan, Registrar of CRFFN, Samuel Nwakohu, explained that the many sub-standard trucks at the Nigerian ports and on the roads across the country was the major reason why containers often fall and kill people/damage goods, and cause traffic disruption, among others.
