The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has raised the alarm over threats by the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) to deregister some of its members who are in court to ascertain the true status of the agency.
The case is currently pending before an appeal court sitting in Lagos.
Counsel to NAGAFF, Barrister Okwudili Alagbu at a press briefing on Monday in Lagos , explained that the association received the threat letter from the council following an earlier letter sent to the National Assembly (NASS) for which the CRFFN was copied.
Alagbu added that their NASS letter became necessary because of the planned amendment of some sections of the CRFFN Act for which some of their members had been in court.
He made it clear that the same sections the Council was seeking to amend at the NASS were same areas of contention in which their members were seeking for court’s interpretation.
Recall that two of NAGAFF members had approached the Federal High Court to interpret if the CRFFN is a private establishment or government agency according to the Act establishing it.
The court ruled that it was a government agency. Not satisfied with the verdict, the two members approached the Appeal Court where the matter is currently pending.
Following the proposed amendment of the contentious sections by the NASS, NAGAFF wrote the Senate President, the Speaker and the relevant committees reminding them of the pendency of the matter in court.
But in a swift response by the Chairman, Governing Council of CRFFN, Tsanni A. Abubakar, in a statement made available to newsmen wrote with letter referenced CRFFN/CGC/CFFA/001/01 to the NAGAFF President, saying
“We note with dismay that the plaintiff/appellants in the suit are said to be registered freight forwarders and members of your association, NAGAFF.
” We therefore draw your attention to Section 19 and 20 of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) Act (Professional Misconduct and Discipline) Regulation, 2010 which states among others that “No freight forwarder, association of Freight Forwarders, professional body/institute and Training Institution shall (1) Take their complaints against each other and/or the CRFFN to the public or press; (2) Without the exhausting the statutory channels provided by the CRFFN in resolving disputes have recourse to court action”, the Chairman stated.
Tsanni went further, “Section 20 has spelt out the penalty which include (1) Be expelled from the Council, (2) Have its name struck out from the register of CRFFN: Copy attached”.
He subsequently gave NAGAFF December 20, 2019, to direct its concerned members to withdraw the Appeal and address their complaints to him (the undersigned) “who is the Chairman, Freight Forwarders Disciplinary Tribunal”.
However,Alagbu described the threat as holding no water, as according to him, the suit “has been there all this while; why are they threatening now?” For him, it was a panic measure which they must counter.
Barr. Alagbu cited Section 6 and Section 10 of the 3rd Schedule of the Act all of which, he observed projected the Council as a private entity.
Alagbu noted that the Sections quoted as sanction were mere in-house by-law of the Council, which could neither override the Council Act nor the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The lawyer maintained that the freight forwarding group would not allow its members to be threatened or cowed.
The association has six governing board members in the council .
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