Nigeria cracks down on unlicensed forwarders

NIGERIA is now requiring freight forwarders to register to operate within the country, allegedly to target foreign companies in particular.

At a meeting to announce the move to local forwarder associations, a spokesman for the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarders in Nigeria (CRFFN), Olayiwola Shittu (right), said the industry needs to be “sanitised”.

Chief executive officer of CRFFN, Mike Jukwe, announced that the registration would be from January to March each year.

“Notwithstanding the provisions of any other laws, no organisation or firm shall practise as freight forwarders in Nigeria unless it is registered by the Council,” Jukwe said.

Jukwe also revealed that a freight forwarders consultative committee would be set up later this year that will allow practitioners to consult with CRFFN.

“We consider stakeholders as the bedrock of any venture because it is their views and participation that sustains the venture. I will welcome your suggestions on the composition of the committee”, he said.