By Sandra Chukwunyere
The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, has frowned at the proliferation of associations in the freight forwarding industry as well as the maritime Media which he said is giving confusing signals to policy makers.
Specifically, he disclosed that discordant tunes from the freight forwarders make it difficult for policy makers to consult them on vital policies affecting their profession.
Adeniyi was making this observation on Thursday, February 13th, 2025 in Lagos during the Award and Dinner night organized by the maritime media to honour him for his exemplary leadership as the helmsman of the Customs.
During the event, which was attended by the pletorial of maritime journalists, top customs officers, freight forwarders and friends and well wishers of the celebrant, Adeniyi enjoined the freight forwarding groups to come together and speak with one voice so that government can respect and find it easier to consult them on policies affecting their industry.
” The story of customs agents is similar to that of maritime journalists in terms of proliferation of associations.
” There are so many discordant tunes coming from the freight forwarders which do not help the policy makers.
” The policy makers want to respect them by consulting them on matters of policies about their profession but the discordant tunes coming from them make it difficult for such consultations”
The CGC therefore pleaded with the confraternity of the freight forwarders to come together under one umbrella for them to present unified position to government on matters affecting their industry.
He therefore charged both Prince Shittu Olayiwola, the former National President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents(ANLCA) and Alhaji Akeem Olanrewaju, the Chairman of the Customs Consultative Council( CCC) to spearhead the unification drive of the freight forwarding associations, given their vantage positions in the freight forwarding industry.
It could be recalled that there are more than five freight forwarding groups which are recognized by the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria(CRFFN), the government regulatory agency in the freight forwarding industry,which include ANLCA, NAGAFF, Council of Managing Directors, AREFF.
It could also be recalled that the freight forwarders often accused the government of not carrying them along in some of the policies affecting their profession.
Recently, the agitated customs brokers accused the Customs of not consulting them before the 4 per cent FOB charge was imposed on them, a protest which makes the Customs to suspend the fee for enough consultation.
Meanwhile, the CGC has equally admonished the maritime media to collapse the multiple associations among them which he said has been impeding efforts to access opportunities in the maritime industry.
He believed that their unification will enable them to access welfare opportunities from stakeholders.
He noted that there are opportunities which the maritime journalists could
assess easily only if they come together under one umbrella.
Adeniyi disclosed that a unified maritime media should be thinking of how to improve their welfare, noting that most of them have paid their dues in the industry.
He advised them on how they could explore opportunities in providing life insurance package for themselves as well as housing mortgage so they could have decent accommodations for themselves.
The CGC promised to lead the crusade for better welfares for maritime journalists among other heads of government agencies only if they could come together as one body.
He believed that the unification task is possible as the maritime journalists have exemplified by coming together to honour him.
Six associations of maritime journalists came together to honour Adeniyi for his impactful leadership which they unanimously agreed was worth celebrating.
These groups of maritime journalists include the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria (MARAN), League of Maritime Editors (LOME), Association of Maritime Journalists of Nigeria (AMJON), Maritime Journalists Association of Nigeria (MAJAN), Shipping Correspondents Association of Nigeria (SCAN), Online Maritime Media Association of Nigeria (OMMAN) and Congress of Nigerian Maritime Media Practitioners (CONMMEP), as well as those who do not belong to any association.
It was a night of glitz where Adeniyi was conferred with the award of Iconic Maritime Personality of the Year 2024.
