CONTRARY to report over  freight forwarders’ crisis in Seme border the leadership of the Seme Chapter of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) has denied its involvement in the sharing of government revenue.

Speaking to Vanguard recently, the Chairman of the Seme chapter of NAGAFF Mr Thomas Ajunwa said that the crisis involving his group and members of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (AMLCA) was as a result of the collection of practising fee of members.

He stated that the leadership of ANLCA wants to impose its authority over other freight forwarding groups, a move that NAGAFF vehemently opposed and ANLCA members tried to resist the opposition by NAGAFF.

Ajunwa explained that before his administration took the chapter, the leadership of ANLCA collected practising fees on behalf of other freight forwarding groups.

Explaining further Ajunwa stated that on assumption of duty as chairman he commenced moves to stop the collection of practising fee from NAGAFF members, a development that did not go down well with ANLCA and their resistence led to the crisis that rocked the chapter for two days.

He also disclosed that the matter has been resolved and each freight forwarding group has been directed to collect practising fees from their members/

The NAGAFF Seme chapter buss also stated that before the matter degenerated to a crisis level, he had made several overtures to the leadership of ANLCA for every group to have a smooth working arrangement amongst the various groups.

“The government did not give any group money, what we are talking about is the practising payable by members of the various groups of freight forwarders.

“It is the practising fee which NAGAFF members pay to NAGAFF secretariat and it is this fee we use to run the secretariat” he added.

Speaking in similar vein, the Secretary General of  NAGAFF Mr Valentino Azezebo stated that the crisis between the two groups was not as a result of sharing of loot , adding that the cause of the clash was due to the move by ANLCA who wanted to lord its authority over others.

His words “we do share government revenue, such revenues are paid to the bank, it is only when the Customs confirm such payment  that your goods will be release to you.

“What we are trying to say is that members are committed to the association through the payment of practising fees and that fee is a token  which we use to run the association, we run the secretariat and Azezebo  said that the first thing they did after they were elected and sworn in was to write the leadership of ANKCA and informed them of the presence and their resolve to commencement of the collection of practising fee from their members.

The group’s scribe ll letters that were written to the ANLCA were not acknowledged in any form until NAGAFF Task Force started collecting its practising fees from its members and ANLCA started trouble.