…Promise To Empower Youth, Acquire Operational Licences For Women
The acting President and Presidential candidate in the forthcoming election of Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Dr. Kayode Collins Farinto has disclosed that for the association to move forward it has to be rebranded in sync with the digital age.
Dr. Farinto disclosed this in Apapa on Tuesday during his campaign address to his supporters in the premier port in Lagos.
He stated that there was need to rebrand the association and ANLCA at this point in time, hence the needs to elects team of leaders that would help in achieving its aims.
He added that it’s high time for the ANLCA women to have licenses which they will be making good use of as professionals in the.field and not just in the kitchen, even as he added that the youth will be empowered as they are the future leaders of the association.
He promised that himself and his team will ensure that within 90 days in office they achieve some of their campaign promises, adding that if they did not deliver as promised, they should be stoned anywhere they are seen.
He raised concerns about the current structure within the industry, where various sub-sectors such as freight forwarders, customs brokers, logistics suppliers, consolidators, and warehouse owners are all combined under one umbrella, even as he added that the approach makes it challenging to differentiate between different roles, leading to unfair treatment of professionals.
Sighting an example that customs brokers, like himself, pay significant higher fees for licensing and operations compared to other industry players, he proposed the establishment of an independent institute of customs brokerage exclusively focused on the needs and challenges of customs brokers.
Dr. Farinto cited the practices in advanced countries where such institutes exist and emphasized that pursuing this initiative would be a priority, if elected as ANLCA’s President. “It is a misnomer for members of ANLCA to belong to CRFFN, as the original intention of CRFFN has been hijacked by the Federal government. The composition of CRFFN shows that the Federal government appoints 17 members while we elect 15.”
“In the industry, we have various sectors like freight forwarders, customs brokers, logistics suppliers, consolidators, and warehouse owners, but everything has been lumped together. This makes it difficult to differentiate between professionals.
“For instance, I pay N250,000 yearly to renew my license and an additional N15,000 at each command. On the other hand, someone else only pays N7,000 to register with the Corporate Affairs Commission. We are not the same.
“That’s why we want our own institute of customs brokerage to take care of customs brokers alone, just like advanced countries do. This is what we will pursue, God willing,” he said.
He promised to ensure that the bill for the establishment of the Institute of Customs Brokerage is sponsored and passed into law if elected as president of the association
He maintained that the institute has become necessary because the association is not supposed to be affiliated to the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) which he said belongs to all and sundry.
He pointed out that CRFFN, having been taken over by the government, is no longer suitable for members to belong saying it’s original reason of establishment has been compromised.
He also promised to work closely with the Federal government to secure a 1% allocation from the annual revenue generated by customs brokers. Adding that this allocation would be utilized to benefit ANLCA members and tackle operational challenges arising from government policies.
