Its Incumbent On ANLCA To Reposition CRFFN’ – Mustapha 

Immediate past chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Alhaji Taiwo Mustapha has said only the association can genuinely offer the required support to evaluate ,redesign and reposition the troubled Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN).

Mustapha who is re-contesting  membership of the BoT in the  upcoming election to hold soon, said lamented that whereas the CRFFN failed largely because it derailed from its original ideals, argued that only ANLCA which promoted and advanced the establishment of the Council, has the professional wherewithal and political sagacity to push the restoration of the Council.

In a chat with our reporter, Mustapha remarked that CRFFN’s failure stemmed from narrow and unwarranted interferences from accredited associations which stock in trade was to edge the Council on the path of dishonest pursuits and infamy.

Mustapha, a member of the Group of Nine said the review and possible restructuring of the CRFFN will be a top agenda of the G9 if voted into office.

He said, “ANLCA was the foundation of how CRFFN came into being, ANLCA members were not only at the forefront but practically did all the legislative leg work for its establishment. Some have been talking, not even NAGAFF (National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders), not any other associations were the promoters of CRFFN. The essence of CRFFN has not been positively felt since its creation, and this is one of the key areas we need to re-evaluate as a board.

“What do we stand to gain? What is the structure of CRFFN today that needs to be changed? What was the idea behind it? Has it been achieved? If not, what can we do to actually restructure it to the benefit of our members and the larger freight community.”

He lamented that the Council has in its posturing and operations degenerated into a mere rent seeker over and above it’s conceptual professional focus.

“CRFFN has lost that. Rather, CRFFN is standing like a milking body, pushing our members to bring out cash, and that is not the essence. Why CRFFN failed was because the other associations were edging them on, they were not giving them the right advice. They were more interested in what they could get financially from the Council,” he stated.

Mustapha noted that despite the financial contributions from licensed customs agents, who are predominantly ANLCA members, their advice were often disregarded by CRFFN.

“Every penny paid to CRFFN comes from licensed customs agents, out of which 90% are members of ANLCA. Yet, when we give them advice, they don’t want to take, so we decided to leave them alone.”

He also expressed dissatisfaction with ANLCA representatives in the CRFFN, who he believes chase only after their personal benefits, leaving ANLCA in the lurch.

“Some of our members from the other side are part of the CRFFN. What have they brought to the table as benefits to our members up to date? If they have not been able to bring anything up to date, then they cannot be useful to us anymore.”

On the way to go,

Mustapha proposed a critical reassessment of ANLCA’s relationship with CRFFN, including the possibility of withdrawing from the Council if necessary reforms are not implemented.

“This BOT wants to stand and look into it, whether we want to continue and restructure the CRFFN at the level of the government, or we entirely pull out ANLCA from it so that they don’t continue to blame us,” he declared.

Mustapha’s also worried that a financial probe of the Council can bring negative backlash on ANLCA, particularly members involved in the Council’s running.

“If the government decides to investigate the budget that has been released to CRFFN over the years, some people will go to jail. Among them are our members.”