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) has insisted on the conclusion of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise yesterday (Sunday) despite calls by some opposition political parties and civil society organisations for an extension over concerns that millions of citizens could be excluded from the 2027 general elections.
In a notice issued on its X (formerly Twitter) handle on Saturday, the commission reminded the public that the exercise would end on Sunday, July 26, with designated registration centres open from 9am to 3pm.
“Your future won’t wait. Neither should you. The Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise ends Sunday, 26 July 2026,” the Commission stated.
INEC also reminded prospective voters that they could complete the registration process online through its dedicated CVR portal or visit designated INEC offices and registration centres nationwide for physical assistance.
The new Electoral Act stipulates that INEC is required to stop voter registration, updating and revision of the voters’ register 90 days before an election to allow for data clean-up, the printing of Permanent Voter Cards and other logistical preparations.
The law also requires the Commission to display the voters’ register for claims and objections within the stipulated period to enable eligible Nigerians to challenge omissions and errors and help ensure the credibility of the final register for the polls.
The INEC National Commissioner on Information and Voter Education, Mr Mohammed Haruna, told The Tide source that the Commission would not extend the deadline, stressing that the registration exercise had to close to allow the electoral body to begin cleaning the data already collected.
“By midnight on Sunday, voter registration ends. There won’t be any extension. There are so many things that we need to do at the back end. We have to draw a line; otherwise, we won’t be able to produce a clean copy of what has been posted,” he said.
Mr Haruna explained that the commission’s Information Technology team and the Voter Registration Department would begin processing the data immediately after the closure of the registration window.
He said INEC would deploy its Automated Biometric Identification System to detect and remove multiple registrations before the provisional voters’ register is displayed for public scrutiny.
“We have this automatic biometric system that will check whether somebody has registered more than once. They will publish the register for claims and objections. That is, if anybody thinks a name shouldn’t be on the register, or if he has some claims, for instance, that his name has been omitted or some of his details are incorrect,” he said.
According to him, the final number of newly registered voters would only be known after the biometric verification and the claims and objections process.
“So, it’s after all that has been done that we will have a final figure, which we will now add to the existing 93 million or so. That will then become the voters’ register. We are mandated to give every political party a copy ahead of the election,” Mr Haruna added.
Responding to concerns over the number of Nigerians who may be excluded from the 2027 electoral process by the closure, the national commissioner said INEC could only account for eligible citizens who presented themselves for registration.
He added that the commission had recorded registrations through its online platform, physical registration centres and INEC offices across the 774 local government areas.
According to a public announcement signed by Mr Ariyo Rufus, Head of Department, Voter Education, Publicity, Gender and Inclusivity on behalf of Mr Oluwatoyin Babalola, the INEC Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), the said exercise is aimed at assessing its operational readiness and testing the efficiency of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) ahead of the governorship poll.
INEC stated that the exercise would simulate Election Day accreditation procedures but clarified that no voting would take place during the exercise.
The commission explained that “the mock accreditation would be conducted in selected polling units spread across the three senatorial districts of Osun State, covering Osun Central, Osun East and Osun West.
“In Osun Central Senatorial District, the selected local government areas are Osogbo, Olorunda, Ifelodun and Boripe, with designated polling units identified for the exercise.
“For Osun East Senatorial District, the exercise will take place in selected polling units across Ilesa West, Ilesa East, Oriade and Obokun local government areas.”
INEC also listed Egbedore, Ede North, Ede South and Ejigbo local government areas as the selected councils for the mock accreditation exercise in Osun West Senatorial District.
The commission urged all registered voters whose polling units were selected to participate in the exercise, stressing that only holders of valid Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) would be accredited.
“This exercise is designed to test the functionality and efficiency of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) under conditions similar to Election Day. There shall be no voting during the exercise,” the Commission stated.
INEC reaffirmed its appreciation to residents of Osun State for their continued cooperation and support throughout the electoral process.
INEC also assured political parties, the media, civil society organisations and other stakeholders of the Commission’s commitment to conducting a free, fair, credible, transparent and inclusive governorship election in Osun State.
Mr Dare made the remark while criticizing Alhaji Abubakar for hiring a United States of America lobbyist with $1.2 million, in preparation for the 2027 elections.
In a statement he personally signed, Mr Dare said the former vice president can’t take Nigeria down the path of self-destruction.
The statement read in part: “Worse still, for a man who presumes to offer leadership to Africa’s most populous nation, his recent resort to grievance offshoring, outsourcing political warfare to Washington and reportedly paying $1.2 million to an American lobbying firm to peddle petitions against a sitting Nigerian President, stands as an affront to Nigeria’s sovereignty and a vote of no confidence in its democratic institutions.
“It is also a stinging slight, an implicit condescension directed at generations of Nigerian journalists, policy analysts, academics, and public intellectuals who have spent decades analysing, critiquing, and carrying the burden of the nation’s democratic evolution.
“The Atiku Abubakar of today cuts a pitiable figure, a grotesque portrait of what a politician becomes when ambition overwhelms judgment and every political faculty becomes programmed for self-destruction.
“No, Atiku cannot take Nigeria down that path with him. He must travel it alone. But first, Nigerians deserve Atiku Abubakar’s report card. Charity, they say, begins at home, not in Washington.
“Nigerians deserve to know whether the Atiku Abubakar who has long presented himself as a democrat is, in reality, a politician of many colours. He has erected for himself a throne built simultaneously on sand and bayonets. It is time to explode the bayonets.”