….As APPA urges support for CPC to protect rights of Nigerian e-consumers***
Rudderless Council for Regulation of Freight Forwarders in Nigeria (CRFFN) on Saturday elected a 15-man Governing Council in Lagos, after running the body, without coherence for more than five years.
The newly-elected CRFFN officials were drawn from the five registered freight forwarding associations, comprising of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarding (NAGAFF), Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA). Others are the National Association of Air Freight Forwarding and Consolidation (NAAFFC) and Association of Registered Freight Forwarders in Nigeria (ARFFN).
The 15 newly elected officials comprised of six each from ÑAGAFF and ANLCA and one each from ARFFN, NCMDLCA and NAAFFC.
They would be joined by 17 government appointees to form the full fledged council which would subsequently guide and administer the body for a four year tenure.
Speaking after the election, the Registrar of CRFFN, Mr Mike Jukwe, urged the freight forwarders to collaborate and work assiduously, in order to speedily take the profession to greater heights.
“Our mandate is to regulate and control freight forwarding in Nigeria; now that we have governing council, policies will be made for the management to execute.
“The policies are geared towards taking the freight forwarding sub sector from where it is to a higher level of best international norms and practices,” Jukwe said, pointing out that the 32-member governing council would elect its chairman and vice chairman among themselves after their retreat in Abuja on July 12.
Also speaking after the election, NAGAFF Founder, Chief Boniface Aniebonam, expressed optimism that the new governing council would sustain and meet up with its mandate.
“This is the first time all the five registered associations are speaking with one voice which would also have positive impact on the council.
“I see the need for all the associations to collaborate because the cooperation led to the peaceful election conducted into the council,” he said.
He urged the newly elected council members to regulate the industry in line with international standards and train operators on the rudiments ot freight forwarding practice.
Henry Njoku, who spoke on behalf of the elected officials, said the governing council would look into the challenges facing the industry and tackle them.
Njoku said that the new council would ensure smooth operations that would enhance the success of Federal Government’s mandate on Ease of Doing Business in Nigerian ports.
Meanwhile, the Association for Public Policy Analysis (APPA) has urged the Federal Government and various stakeholders to support the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) to protect the rights of Nigerian e-consumers.
The association made the call in a communiqué by the President of APPA, Mr Princewill Okorie, on Sunday in Abuja.
The communiqué was the outcome of the E-Commerce Consumer Protection Forum organised by the association in Abuja.
E-Commerce is a business transaction conducted electronically on the internet and has many advantages compared to conventional methods.
E-Consumers are consumers that transact businesses electronically.
According to Okorie, the derivative principles of state policy in the constitution and the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights give reasons for protecting e-consumers right.
“There have been agitations by consumers, especially those who conduct businesses electronically (e-consumers) on the nature of services they receive from electricity, telecommunication and bank service providers.
“These service providers are in the habit of exploiting consumers thereby abusing their fundamental rights as citizens.
“Also, regulators, rather than protect consumers, connive with service providers to exploit unsuspecting consumers and this should be seen as an affront on government’s determination to protect her citizens and fight corruption.
“Hence, the Federal Ministry of Justice and National Human Rights Commission should support CPC in protecting the rights of Nigerian e-consumers.
Okorie urged CPC to publicise the principles it agreed on with on-line marketers to guide their operations for e-consumers protection and ensure regulators respond to e-consumer offenses.
He also called on CPC to encourage the formation of voluntary consumer groups for consumers’ well-being, as existence of such groups would enhance advocacy for enforcement, monitoring and evaluation of regulators.
He said the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) should set up a committee to take e-consumers enlightenment to all the political wards in the council.
He said AMAC should also generate consumer complaints from the various wards as it concerned electricity, banking and telecommunication to enable CPC resolve the complaints.
“Local Government Councils as the third tier of government closer to the grassroots should hold E-Consumer Protection Forum for their citizens as a strategy to encourage their participation in digital business.
“This will enlighten them on their rights and prevent exploitation and conflict between the citizens and service providers.
“The National Assembly should review the cyber crime and security law 2015, CPC Act 1992, the proposed Critical Infrastructure Bill, Electronic Transaction Protection Bill and Cyber Security and Information Protection Bill.
“They should also review the National internal Security Bill 2009, Electronic Commerce (provision of Legal Recognition) Bill, 2008, Electronic fraud (prohibition) Bill 2008 to incorporate e-consumer protection component.
“The Federal Government on its part should set up E-Consumers Regulatory Policy Enlightenment Committee to monitor regulatory Agencies in power, banking and telecommunication sectors.
“This is to ensure that they comply with consumer enlightenment and regulatory policy enforcement, so that sanctions shall be meted out to those who connive with service providers to short change Nigerian consumers,’’ Okorie said.
