By Folashade Alli
In its bid to ensure that the Council of Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (CRFFN) is given proper recognition, Freight forwarders in the maritime industry have expressed reservations against the usage of port pass as an access to the port for members of its association.
Disclosing this, the founder of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarder, NAGAFF, Dr Boniface Aniebonam said that stakeholders in the freight forwarding industry are working effortless to resist the usage of port pass as the only way freight forwarders can access the ports.
According to him,stakeholders are looking at a way of making any freight forwarder that belong to the Council of Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (CRFFN) have direct access to various ports and other border stations in the country.
“CRFFN is a regulatory body as far as freight forwarding is concern and we just want them to know as a way of creating awareness the need for them to make sure they are registered in the council because that will give them the opportunity to be referred as a professional”, He said.
Advising Freight forwarders to become members of the body as the era of Custom licence will elapse soon, he said “Very soon freight forwarders will not require Customs licence to be a freight forwarder but you need to be registered member of CRFFN.”
Adding that, “Am not saying that customs licences is no more in vogue because the Custom and excise law is still in place and it gives the power to customs to issue licence but what am trying to say is that those licenses are limited to customs formalities”, he explained.