CRFFN: Kano Zonal Office to Oversee Council’s Affairs in 19 Northern States, Says FG

Kasim Sumaina in Abuja

The federal government yesterday said the newly inaugurated Kano zonal office of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) would oversee the council’s affairs in all the 19 northern states and ensure a strong presence of CRFFN in the region.
The government through Minister of State for Transportation, Mr. Ademola Adewole Adegoroye, also reaffirmed its resolve to entrench effective and efficient freight forwarding system in the country.

The Minister stated this at the inauguration of the Kano zonal office of CRFFN.
Adegoroye in a statement in Abuja, by the Director, Press/Public Relations, Ministry of Transportation, Henshaw Ogubike, noted that the construction and inauguration of the CRFFN’s Kano Zonal Office was in furtherance of the federal government’s vision and determination to establish a smooth operating freight forwarding system in the country and expand the participation of littoral and non-littoral states in maritime and general logistics.

The minister hinted that the need to promote professionalism, entrench global best practices and develop the capacity of freight forwarding practitioners cannot be over-emphasised, “hence the policy of having zonal offices in the six geopolitical zones of the country.”

He noted that freight forwarding was the coordination and shipment of goods from one place to another through a single or multiple carriers such as air, marine, rail or highway, adding that the CRFFN was established by the CRFFN Act No. 16, 2007; with the responsibility to, amongst other things, regulate and control the practice of freight forwarding in Nigeria and promote the highest standards of competence, practice and conduct among members of the profession.

While enumerating the anticipated benefits and impact of the CRFFN’s Kano Zonal office, Adegoroye, expressed optimism that the new office will further encourage safe, timely, sustainable and environmentally friendly movement of cargoes using the road and rail modes.

He pointed out that the office would aid revenue generation for the government through the collection of Practioners Operating Fee (POF).  
“It will also help in expanding the list of certified freight forwarding professionals whose impact will be felt all over the country and beyond,” he added.
Also speaking at the occasion, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Dr. Magdalene Ajani noted that it was imperative to establish CRFFN’s Zonal offices across the country in order to ensure effective and efficient regulation and promotion of freight forwarding in the country.

In his welcome address, the Registrar of CRFFN, Sam Nwakohu said the construction of the Kano Zonal Office was informed by the need to bring the Council closer to the grassroots.

The Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, represented by the Special Adviser on State Affairs, Hon. Murtala Dandawaki, expressed readiness of the state to support the CRFFN.