Politics
FG Stops CRFFN From Collecting Transaction Fees
Federal Government has stopped the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) from further collection of the approved transaction fees, as a result of the petition written to the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar by the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA).
The National President of ANLCA, Prince Olayiwola Shittu recently petitioned the Minister of Transport for the suspension of the collection of transaction fees by the CRFFN over the refusal of the council to discuss sharing formula of revenue with the accredited Freight Forwarding Association.
Shitttu’s resignation and petition to the Transport Minister, Malam Umar led to the suspension of the collection of the transaction fees, a move which has cost CRFFN over N200 million in two months and compounded its financial condition.
In a joint press conference, Prince Olayiwola Shittu, national President ANLCA and Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, founder NAGAFF in Lagos recently said the two associations appreciated the good gestures of the government over the approval of the transaction fees but expressed their reservation.
“We do hope that the leadership of our council and the honourable Minister do realise that the council does not have the mandate to regulate and control the Nigerian importers, we see it as an error to make such an approval and we guess that it is the reason the honourable Minister decided to reverse himself.
“In the future the CRFFN council can work out with the registered members who are the agents to the principals the best and legal manner such levy can be imposed”, the association advised.
They further claimed that “those who went to seek approval for collection of transaction fees, do not know what they were doing because the Minister does not have the power for approval of collection of money due to us. Section 6 of the council act is quite clear on the opportunity the council has to collect money from registered Freight forwarders and even the associations that they accredited. So you could see that they are making mistake”, they posited.
The duo of ANLCA and NAGAFF noted that elected members of CRFFN have a four-year tenure which expired on August, 14th, 2012, and declared that any action taken after the 14th of August, 2012 is an illegality on the part of the leadership of the council and as such the registration of the Association of Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (AREFFN), National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA) and the National Association of Air Freight Consolidators (NAFAC) is null and void.
Meanwhile, counter claims has trailed the suspension of the CRFFN Transaction fees. The management of the Nigeria Customs Services (NCS) in a letter dated 5th September, 2012, with reference number NCS/ADM/MGT/018/S.12/C/V. III, addressed to the Minister of Transport on the subject matter signed by Assistant Comptroller – General of Customs, Mr. Musa Tahir on behalf of the Controller-General stated that the approval granted to the CRFFN to collect sundry fees on import will increase the cost of doing business at Nigerian ports, adding that charges will no doubt cause delays in the clearance of goods thereby leading to port congestions,” the letter read in part.
The letter further reads that “Its implementation will further increase the cost of doing business in Nigeria with its attendant implication on the cost of goods and services in the country”.
Mr. Biodun Abolaji, member ARFFN, described opposing moves against the transaction fees as mischievous and parochial.
“Collection of transaction fees at the ports will not perpetuate corruption, will not increase cost of doing business at the ports but rather bring it down,” he added.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has not registered any new political parties.
The commission gave the clarification in a statement on its X (formerly Twitter) handle last Wednesday.
It described the purported report circulated by some online social media platforms on the registration of two new political parties by INEC as fake.
“The attention of INEC has been drawn to a fake report making the rounds about the registration of two new political parties, namely “Independent Democrats (ID)” and “Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM)”.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the commission has not yet registered any new party. The current number of registered political parties in Nigeria is 19 and nothing has been added,” it stated.
The commission recalled that both ID and PDM were registered as political parties in August 2013.
INEC further recalled that the two were deregistered in February 2020 in accordance with Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The commission, therefore, urged the public to disregard the said report.
President Bola Tinubu has asked Governor Hyacinth Alia to work more for peace and development of Benue State, saying he was elected to govern, not to bury people.
The President said this while addressing stakeholders at the Government House, Markudi, last Wednesday.
He also called on the governor to set up a peace committee to address some of the issues in the state.
The meeting included the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, traditional rulers, and former governors of the state.
The governors of Kwara, Imo, Kogi, Plateau, Ondo, and Nasarawa states also attended the meeting.
“Let us meet again in Abuja. Let’s fashion out a framework for lasting peace. I am ready to invest in that peace. I assure you, we will find peace. We will convert this tragedy into prosperity,” he said.
President Tinubu urged Governor Alia to allocate land for ranching and directed the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security to follow up.
“I wanted to come here to commission projects, to reassure you of hope and prosperity, not to see gloomy faces. But peace is vital to development.
“The value of human life is greater than that of a cow. We were elected to govern, not to bury people”, he stressed.
He charged Governor Alia on working with the Federal Government to restore peace.
“Governor Alia, you were elected under the progressive banner to ensure peace, stability, and progress. You are not elected to bury people or comfort widows and orphans. We will work with you to achieve that peace. You must also work with us”, he said.
In his remarks, Governor Alia appealed to the Federal Government to establish a Special Intervention Fund for communities affected by repeated violent attacks across the state.
“Your Excellency, while we continue to mourn our losses and rebuild from the ashes of pain, we humbly urge the Federal Government to consider establishing a special intervention fund for communities affected by these incessant attacks in Benue State,” he said.
Governor Alia said the fund would support the rehabilitation of displaced persons, reconstruction of destroyed homes and infrastructure, and the restoration of livelihoods, especially for farmers.
He reiterated his support for establishing state police as a lasting solution to insecurity.
The governor pledged his administration’s full commitment to building a safe, stable, prosperous Benue State.
Also speaking at the meeting, the Chairman of the Benue State Traditional Rulers Council, Tor Tiv, Orchivirigh, Prof. James Ayatse, praised President Tinubu for being the first sitting President to personally visit victims in the hospital in the wake of such a tragedy.
He thanked the President for appointing notable Benue indigenes into key positions, including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Professor Joseph Utsev, while expressing hope that more appointments would follow.
Former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (ret’d), says the Aburi accord collapsed because Chukwuemeka Ojukwu wanted regional governors to control military zones.
Gen. Gowon was Nigeria’s military ruler from 1966 until 1975 when he was deposed in a bloodless coup while Ojukwu was military governor of the then Eastern Region in that span.
In a live television interview recently, Gen. Gowon narrated what transpired after the agreement was reached in Aburi, a town in Ghana.
The meeting that led to the accord took place from January 4 to 5, 1967, with delegates from both sides of the divide making inputs.
The goal was to resolve the political impasse threatening the country’s unity.
The point of the agreement was that each region should be responsible for its own affairs.
During the meeting, delegates arrived at certain resolutions on control and structure of the military. However, the exact agreement reached was the subject of controversy.
The failure of the Aburi accord culminated in Nigeria’s civil war, which lasted from July 6, 1967, to January 15, 1970.
Speaking on what transpired after the agreement, Gen. Gowon said the resolutions should have been discussed further and finalised.
The ex-military leader said he took ill after arriving in Nigeria from Aburi and that Ojukwu went on to make unauthorised statements about the accord.
Gen. Gowon said he did not know where Ojukwu got his version of the agreement from.
“We just went there (Aburi), as far as we were concerned, to meet as officers and then agree to get back home and resolve the problem at home. That was my understanding. But that was not his (Ojukwu) understanding,” he said.
Gen. Gowon said Ojukwu declined the invitation, citing safety concerns.
“I don’t know what accord he (Ojukwu) was reading because he came to the meeting with prepared papers of things he wanted. And, of course, we discussed them one by one, greed on some and disagreed on some.
“For example, to give one of the major issues, we said that the military would be zoned, but the control… He wanted those zones to be commanded by the governor.
“When you have a military zone in the north, it would be commanded by the governor of the military in the north, the military zone in the east would be commanded by him. Of course, we did not agree with that one”, Gen. Gowon added.
Ojukwu died on November 26, 2011 at the age of 78.