Compliance team to boost business at ports –NAGAFF founder

The founder of National Association of Government Approved Frieght Forwarders (NAGAFF), Dr. Aniebonam Bonniface, has said that the 100 per cent compliance team was set up to add value to business at the nation’s seaports across the country.

Speaking at a press briefing at Apapa yesterday, said that the NAGFF 100 per cent compliance team was not set up to witch hunt any government agency and anybody, saying that it was set up for the purpose of ensuring that all operators in the industry comply with the rules and guidelines for international trade at the nation’s seaports, airports and other entry points.

According to him, by doing so, government agencies would be able to deliver on their mandate, while ensuring that shippers, importers and freight forwarders imbibe the culture of doing the right thing.

Speaking on whether NAGAFF has the power to set up a compliance team, he explained that the right of the association to set up a compliance team was not in doubt becuase it relied on the constitution of  Nigeria, saying that NAGAFF is also duly registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and it also duly registered by the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN), which is the body in charge of regulating and controlling of freight forwarders in the country.

He said by Constitution of Nigeria, NAGAFF, as an association, has the right to set up compliance team and operate in the port, saying that the only thing is that NAGAFF does not has power to prosecute.

He said by the law that set up licensing regulations, sets up establishment of Customs that why Customs and Customs agents are like two sides of a coin.

He said: “The same law that gave right to th operations of the Customs and that of license Customs agents and nobody can separate them. Anybody who wants to separate Customs and licensed agents has to go back to National Assembly to do so. We re both have access to the ports. It is a simple argument.

“So setting up a compliance team is still an effort of NAGAFF to complement the efforts of  Customs in ensuring its mandates in the area of collection of government revenue and accounting, the mandate of trade facilitation and international collaboration. If NAGAFF sees anybody go against the law of Customs, we will report you to Customs and the same things goes to other government agencies at ports. We are not in the ports to blackmail anybody but to ensure that there is compliance and people do things according to the law.”