By Hosea Parah, Abuja

recently at the commissioning of the Kano Zonal Office of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN).

Speaking before declaring the new office open, Prince Adegoroye noted that the construction and commissioning 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 need to promote professionalism, entrench global best practices and develop the capacity of freight forwarding practitioners cannot be over-emphasized, hence the policy of having zonal offices in the six geopolitical zones of the country”, the Minister said.

Freight forwarding is the coordination and shipment of goods from one place to another through a single or multiple carriers such as air, marine, rail or highway.

The Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (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.

The CRFFN’s Kano Zonal Office is to oversee the Council’s affairs in all the 19 Northern States and ensure a strong presence of the Council in that region.

The Minister, while enumerating the anticipated benefits and impact of the CRFFN’s Kano Zonal office, 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 will 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.

Prince Adegoroye solicited the cooperation and support of the Kano State Government and other States in the zone for the CRFFN in all areas as may be required from time to time.

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 inorder to ensure effective and efficient regulation and promotion of freight forwarding in the country.

In his welcome address, the Registrar of CRFFN, Barr Sam Nwakohu said the construction of the Kano Zonal Office was informed by the need to bring the Council closer to the grassroots addimg that the CRFFN will not reneged on its mandate of ensuring professionalism, promoting freight logistics efficiency, and improving Nigeria’s ranking on the logistics performance index.

The Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, represented by the Special Adviser on State Affairs, Hon. Murtala Dandawaki, expressed the readiness of the State Government to support the CRFFN and urgerd the Council to take advantage of the State’s vast human and material resources.