Shippers’ groups in the garb of clearing and forwarding agents and freight forwarders go for each other’s jugular over the soul of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN)
By Innocent Chukwu
Three major groups of business people in the maritime business sector are at daggers drawn over the legality or otherwise of a controversial charge being imposed on them purportedly by the Federal Government in the course of carrying out their legitimate trade in the seaports.
The Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA) and the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) are tearing one another to shreds in their quest to terminate, proscribe or protect and sustain the Practitioners Operating Fee (POF) which the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) imposed on them. As the name implies, the CRFFN is a body established by an Act in 2007 to regulate the activities of the freight forwarders and/or clearing and forwarding agents in the country.
To function effectively, the CRFFN had imposed the POF collection on every cargo cleared from the seaports to run its affairs. The management of the funds accrued from the POF collections, curiously, has also been shrouded in secrecy since it was established over 17 years ago. The POF collection and its alleged mismanagement have been at the centre of the crisis surrounding the continuous collection of the fee by the CRFFN.
Its current Registrar, Kingsley Igwe, confirmed that the lack of accountability in the management of the POF has remained the albatross of the Council when he said, last month during a media briefing that, “We are trying to know how much has accrued from the POF because the collection of the fee is not directly under the control of the Council. We engaged a consultant and the consultant is in the best position to give us a clear account of how much they have collected on POF.
“As we speak, the Council does not have the figure of the amount, and we have been demanding for it from the consultants and they have not been transparent enough to declare how much they have collected. It is still on their table to let the public know how much they have collected from POF because it is not supposed to be secret”.
Angered by the duplicity that trailed the management of the huge sums the CRFFN collected without rendering account, as well as the alleged domination of the Council by members of NAGAFF, the President of the NCMDLCA, Lucky Eyis Amiwero and his group, dragged the Council to court and claimed that clearing and forwarding agents are not freight forwarders, hence they are not supposed to be compelled to come under the control of the CRFFN, and should not be compelled also to keep paying what they referred to as the illegal POF imposed on them.
In the suit marked FHC/L/CS/5172/2008, the NCMDLCA had among others sought, A declaration that the business of licensed Customs agents is not under the control of the Ministry of Transportation and Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN);
A declaration that licensed Customs agents, their business and right to enter the ports to conduct and carry out the business of licensed Customs agents is created and regulated by the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA);
A declaration that licensed Customs agents and the business of licensed Customs agents and freight forwarders and the business of freight forwarding are functionally and operationally different bodies and businesses under the control, regulation and supervision of different and separate government ministries and parastatals”.
While delivering judgement in the suit on June 13, 2025, Justice D.E Osiagor of the Federal High Court in Lagos, granted all the eight reliefs sought by the NCMDLCA.
Following the legal victory obtained by the NCMDLCA, other splinter clearing and forwarding groups, including the National Association of Air Freight Forwarders and Consolidators (NAFFAC), Association of Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (AREFFN) and a faction of Amiwero’s National Council, joined ANLCA at a recent media briefing to align themselves with the court judgement, thereby distancing themselves from the payment of any operating fee to the CRFFN.
However, ANLCA’s move with the rest other fringe groups did not sink well with Amiwero. The president of NCMDLCA, who achieved the hard-won court victory over CRFFN, mocked the gathering of the four other associations, describing them as “strange bedfellows”.
He said, “Just look at the gathering of these strange bedfellows, ganging up together to reap where they did not sow.
“A case of ‘my enemy, who is the enemy of my enemy, is now my friend.’
“When they slept on their rights and were busy fighting over the sharing formula of the POF, they never saw CRFFN action as illegal.
“Where were they when Lucky Amiwero single-handedly pursued the case and secured the judgment?
“Some of them even bashed Amiwero for challenging CRFFN, but now, have gathered to enjoy relief from another man’s struggle.
“Pushed by the frustration of not getting any share as CRFFN said that a Consultant fraudulently swallowed everything, they’ve now latched onto Amiwero’s court judgment, in revenge of those that outsmarted them in the Council’s politics and booties sharing” Amiwero declared in a derisive note.
On its part, NAGAFF on Monday, August 4, 2025 held a press conference to address concerns regarding the recent actions of other rival associations in the freight forwarding sector.
During the press conference, the National President of NAGAFF, Chief Tochukwu Ezisi expressed their discontent over the actions of four accredited associations for aligning themselves with a court ruling that undermines CRFFN’s ability to regulate customs agents and collect the POF.
The association highlighted that the ruling is currently under appeal and its enforcement has been stayed, questioning the motives of the rival associations which have historically resisted CRFFN’s establishment.
NAGAFF emphasized that this ruling is currently under appeal and thus unenforceable, accusing the rival associations of opportunism and political vendetta, particularly targeting the appointment of Mr. Igwe as the CRFFN Registrar. NAGAFF urged the government to investigate alleged sabotage against reforms in the marine and blue economy sectors and highlighted the failure of these associations to meet their financial obligations to the CRFFN.
The NAGAFF President said, “The real issue appears to be the appointment of Mr. Kingsley Igwe as Registrar, a former Secretary of NAGAFF. His emergence has triggered litigation not for legal rectitude but as a political vendetta. We must now speak clearly, those who no longer believe in CRFFN’s mandate should step aside.
“We suspect a broader agenda aimed at sabotaging government reforms in the marine and blue economy sectors. The government should investigate the economic and regulatory sabotage being carried out under the guise of activism.
“These groups have often failed in their statutory financial obligations to CRFFN. ANLCA and NCMDLCA must align their identities with the new Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) Act of 2023.
“We recommend that CRFFN consider the deregistration of these four associations and request the withdrawal of their CAC certificates in the national interest.
“Despite these distractions, NAGAFF remains proud of the performance of the current Registrar, Mr. Kingsley Igwe. In under a year, he has demonstrated exceptional leadership, including:
– Expanding CRFFN’s funding beyond the Port Operating Fund (POF) to improve financial sustainability.
– Commencing training for 1,000 freight forwarders in 2025, an unprecedented capacity-building initiative, which has already seen the successful training of 300 freight forwarders.
– Driving digital modernization and stakeholder collaboration to strengthen CRFFN’s regulatory role.
“We hereby express our absolute confidence in the leadership of the CRFFN Registrar/CEO, under the supervision of the Hon. Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, CON.
“We, NAGAFF, will remain committed to the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, and to a freight forwarding profession rooted in professionalism, transparency, and national service.”
