Founder, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Dr. Boniface Aniebonam has called on the National Assembly (NASS) to review the Act that set up the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) to save it from implosion caused by intermittent wrangling.

Aniebonam who was disturbed by the way and manner the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) is being run, contrary to its mandates, made the call at an event to commemorate the 2020 Freight Forwarders’ Day, held at NAGAFF headquarters in Apapa, Lagos, Monday.

He said CRFFN which was set up by the Act of Parliament to regulate operations and activities of freight forwarding and forwarders has derailed and its impact could hardly be felt in the country’s port system.

According to him, “It was through NAGAFF, with the support of some critical stakeholders, that the CRFFN was berthed. It was designed in the mold of ICAN, a private sector initiative.

Surprisingly, some people have cornered it as a government parastatal in contravention to the Act that established the CRFFN in order to collect money from the Federal Government.

“Which agency of the Federal Government has its CEO elected or the management elected? That is why NAGAFF went to court to challenge the aberration, which is now in the Appeal Court.”

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“It is because of this wrong interpretation and implementation of the Act that the Council has remained comatose since its inception thereby derailing from the purpose for which it was set up.’’

He categorically said that those who had been misappropriating funds in the Council would one day face the consequences of their deeds, pointing out that the crime had an expiry date.

He said it was a huge mistake to place the Council under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Transportation and pleaded that the body is transferred to the Ministry of Trade and Investment.

Aniebonam made it clear that freight forwarding was the engine-room for cargo movement.

‘’As a result of this, practitioners must be fully trained to understand all the involvements in the business,’’ said he.

NAGAFF celebrates every November 30 as its Freight Forwarders’ Day, because it was founded on November 30, 1999. This year was twenty-one in the series.