Noticeable pitfalls that may become the albatross of CRFFN Council
By Jerry Aguigbo
With the resurfacing of glaring anomalies which marred the last elections into the last CRFFN Council: hiring of mecinaries to replace registered voter who could not find their way to the venue of the election in Abuja, hand picking of preferred candidates by those who are supposed to insist on free and fair election for a credible and purposeful leadership. These aforementioned pitfalls could not allow the council the benefits of resourceful and result driven leadership.
However, with the announcement the October 9, 2021 governing council election, one would have expected a radical departure from errors of the past which impeded free and fair election with the benefits of hind sight but here again, more errors are being made.
Todaynews gathered that the time frame of one month given by the Electoral Committee for the purchase forms, campaign and the voting is inadequate and may not ensure for a robust implementation of the election guidelines.
The National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (Nagaff)
has posited that the venue for the October election is not suitable, according to a statement from the Nagaff high Command, spelt out that while Nagaff appreciates the powers of the Committee to fix date and venue for the elections, they are however compelled to suggest that the election be moved to Lagos where
over 85% cargo clearance is carried out, even as the bulk of Freight Forwarders are domiciled there.
This plea carries a lot of weight in the face the deplorable state of the roads and the security situation in the country.
It is also true that a bulk of those purportedly registered by the various associations outside Abuja may not get the chance to actually participate in the elections proper as the list of registered Freight Forwarders may not be used giving room to use of mecinaries from nearby schools, artisans and transport operators in Abuja.
Our findings also reveal that the Registrar, Barr. Samuel Nwakohu has been sidelined in the run up to the election, making it virtually impossible for a coordinated action from the Council, even the Transportation ministry is heading the electioneering process.
Stakeholders and observers have accused the ruling APC government of using the CRFFN to settle some of its boys who have allegedly hijacked the Council.
It was also discovered that some level of apathy is pervading the Council elections, as the Secretariat of the Associations which at the run up to the last election was a beehive of activities as members queued up to be registered but at this period, the various association’s Secretariats have been deserted due to apathy and lack of confidence in the electoral process.
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