THE House of Representative Committee on Ports and Harbours has
postponed its public hearing on the amendment of the Council for
the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) Act.
Secretary of the committee, Jide Fumilayo, who confirmed the
development to newsmen, said the public hearing had been postponed
indefinitely.
It was gathered that the decision to postpone the public hearing
was reached at a meeting by the committee members in Abuja on
Monday.
It would be recalled that the Association of Nigerian Licensed
Customs Agents (ANLCA) had kicked against the planned public
hearing insisting that there was no way stakeholders would access
Abuja to make their inputs for an acceptable amended CRFFN bill due
to the interstate lockdown imposed by the Federal Government as
part of measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 disease.
The association, in a letter signed by its Publicity Secretary,
Joe Sanni, had also alleged that the scheduled date for the public
hearing was an attempt by the CRFFN governing council members to
collect by all means the Practitioners Operating Fee (POF), which
had been severally opposed and objected to by members.
Registrar of the Council, Samuel Nwakohu, who welcomed the
development said in view of the current realities in the country
occasioned by COVID-19, the postponement will afford stakeholders
the opportunity to attend the hearing rather than limit it to only
few who have representatives in Abuja.
On allegation that the planned public hearing was an attempt by
the CRFFN to impose collection of the practitioners operating fees
(POF) on practitioners, Nwakohu said, “Among the five accredited
associations, nobody is resisting POF, they all have communiqués
they wrote and gave to us that they are all in for POF. So, that
allegation, to me is a misplaced focus.
“We have planned off really; it is just because of the situation
the country finds itself now that slowed us down. So why should
that be a problem again? The POF is for the benefit of the freight
forwarders and they have all accepted that we start
collection.”
THE House of Representative Committee on Ports and Harbours has
postponed its public hearing on the amendment of the Council for
the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) Act.
Secretary of the committee, Jide Fumilayo, who confirmed the
development to newsmen, said the public hearing had been postponed
indefinitely.
It was gathered that the decision to postpone the public hearing
was reached at a meeting by the committee members in Abuja on
Monday.
It would be recalled that the Association of Nigerian Licensed
Customs Agents (ANLCA) had kicked against the planned public
hearing insisting that there was no way stakeholders would access
Abuja to make their inputs for an acceptable amended CRFFN bill due
to the interstate lockdown imposed by the Federal Government as
part of measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 disease.
The association, in a letter signed by its Publicity Secretary,
Joe Sanni, had also alleged that the scheduled date for the public
hearing was an attempt by the CRFFN governing council members to
collect by all means the Practitioners Operating Fee (POF), which
had been severally opposed and objected to by members.
Registrar of the Council, Samuel Nwakohu, who welcomed the
development said in view of the current realities in the country
occasioned by COVID-19, the postponement will afford stakeholders
the opportunity to attend the hearing rather than limit it to only
few who have representatives in Abuja.
On allegation that the planned public hearing was an attempt by
the CRFFN to impose collection of the practitioners operating fees
(POF) on practitioners, Nwakohu said, “Among the five accredited
associations, nobody is resisting POF, they all have communiqués
they wrote and gave to us that they are all in for POF. So, that
allegation, to me is a misplaced focus.
“We have planned off really; it is just because of the situation
the country finds itself now that slowed us down. So why should
that be a problem again? The POF is for the benefit of the freight
forwarders and they have all accepted that we start
collection.”