Leading maritime analyst, stakeholder and founder of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders’ (NAGAFF), Dr. Boniface Aniebonam has claimed that his group was not aware of last week’s court injunction restraining the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi and terminal operators from collecting the controversial Practitioners Operations Fee (POF), saying he is not aware of the development.
In a telephone interview over the weekend, he recalled that the matter was in a Lagos Federal High Court for adjudication.
Whereas members of ANLCA were at the court in large numbers including with President of NAFAC, Mr. CAT Agubama, as well as lawyers of other respondents in the case, it was observed that neither NAGAFF nor its lawyers appeared.
Business Hilights recalls that the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, on Wednesday last week, asked parties to the suit to maintain status quo pending the determination of the substantive suit which is already before the competent court of law.
The case which came up at court 10 of the Federal High Court was adjourned till 29th of November 2017.
Trouble had started when the minister, in July 2017 issued a directive that POF collection should commence at a time there is already a subsisting case in court, baring such payment.
The minister had directed that the money should be collected by terminal operators on behalf of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) and for onward sharing amongst her five registered associations.
According to ANLCA’s image maker, Mr. Kayode Farinto, “ANLCA actually went for another prayers and that is an injunction restraining the minister of transportation from collection of POF”
“Recently, Amaechi gave terminal operators a directive for them to start collection of the money, so we went to court with the prayers to stop it and the court obliged us.
“The court has said that pending when the case would be decided, everybody should maintain status quo ante.
“The next adjournment is November 29th 2017. The case was heard at federal high court 10,” ANLCA PRO noted.
