The Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) has directed her Conflict Resolution Committee to swing into action immediately and resolve the protracted crisis in the premier customs brokers group, the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA).
This is part of mediation efforts by interested groups to resolve ongoing conflicts ANLCA has been grappling with for some years.
Inaugurating the Committee in Lagos, Thursday, the CRFFN Governing Board Chairman, Alhaji Abubakar Tsanni, directed the Committee to unravel the underlying factors which led to the conflicts and proffer recommendations within one week.
According to the CRFFN Chairman, with over 3000 members and massive revenue generated for the federal government, ANLCA should be providing leadership worthy of emulation for other freight forwarding associations.
“It is unfortunate that this ANLCA crisis has been ongoing for over 4 years and all efforts to resolve it have been futile. CRFFN, as the regulator of all freight forwarding associations, has decided to step up to resolve these issues. We will do our best to address the problems in such a manner that the two factions will be satisfied with the resolutions of the Council.”
According to him, the Committee will also explore the roles of Nigerian Police and the judiciary in the ANLCA fracas in a bid to prevent further conflicts on the issue.
He explained that he discussed ANLCA’s matter with the Minister of Transportation, Engr Mu’azu Sambo who supported that it be handed over to a Conflict Resolution Committee to sort out.
“The Minister also said that we keep him abreast with the developments and resolutions by the Committee,” the CRFFN Chairman said.
Tsanni noted that the Committee was given six days to make its findings and recommendations with a view to deliberating on the resolutions at the next CRFFN Governing Board meeting scheduled to hold on September 8, 2022.
Speaking at the event, the Chairman of the ANLCA Crisis Resolution Committee, Alhaji Abba Yusuf thanked the CRFFN Governing Board for the responsibility, while stating that the Committee’s task is clear and can be categorized in two parts.
“The first part is to find out the history of the crisis to know what really happened and the other part is to make recommendations. We will discuss with both factions. We have veteran freight forwarders and distinguished personalities on this Committee. We will do a thorough job and hopefully resolve these conflicts.”
“As the foremost freight forwarding association in the country, ANLCA shouldn’t be in such a state of conflict in leadership. We will do our best and not operate with any bias,” Yusuf said.
Members of the Conflict Resolution Committee include officials of the Transport Ministry, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), CRFFN, veteran freight forwarders and some members of the CRFFN Governing Board.
In his contribution, the Chairman, Media and Publicity at the CRFFN Governing Board, Hon. Muftahu Ya’u stressed that all future disputes among freight forwarders should utilize the dispute resolution mechanisms enshrined in the CRFFN Act.
“The Council has conflict resolution mechanisms which include bringing such issues to the Investigative panel of CRFFN whose membership include officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). We also have our tribunal that looks into matters affecting freight forwarders. However, the case of ANLCA started before these mechanisms were properly instituted. With these mechanisms, we hope that all warring factions will find solutions within,” he announced.
