The Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) on Saturday said that capacity building training on improving Nigeria’s competitiveness through logistics performance will boost the economy.
Mr Alban Igwe, the Director, Education and Training for the Council, disclosed this at a three-day training for freight forwarders in Port Harcourt.
Igwe said that the training, with the theme “Capacity Building Training on Improving Nigeria’s Competitiveness through Logistics Performance, is aimed at increasing Nigeria’s competitiveness in doing business with the world.
According to Igwe, countries in the world are rated on the bases of logistics performance and this is a metric developed by world bank in use since 2007 till 2018 when Nigeria ranked 110th of 160 countries.
“Some countries in West Africa like Benin Republic, ranked 76, while Ghana is 106. We are supposed to be the giant of Africa and West Africa but we ranked low, so the Council for Regulation of Freight Forwarders thought that the issue must be addressed.
“We commend the Senate and the National Assembly for approving that training should be conducted to improve the capacity of freight forwarders in Managing logistics.
“When we talk about Logistics Performance Index (LPI), freight forwarders are the key drivers because their business is international to facilitate cargo that importers and exporters generate,” he stated.
Igwe noted that the training is to be conducted in Port Harcourt for South-
South, Enugu for South-East, Kano for North and Lagos for South-West.
He stated that the training is to create understanding of what freight forwarders need to do to improve Nigeria’s competitiveness.
“This training will improve cargo integrity not to disturb the supply chain. It will improve the business through digitization, and address code of ethics and practices to move as it is with the international body in a service-driven economy,” he mentioned.
Similarly, Mr Joshua Ahuama, the Eastern Zonal Secretary of the Association of Nigerian License Customs Agents, commended the facilitators of the training, saying that the training is more on practical and professional.
Ahuama outlined some of the benefits of the training as repositioning freight forwarders in the country in terms of doing business with the international communities, digitalization of their businesses and boosting the rank of Nigeria in the logistics performance index.
Mr Chidi Opara, a member of Freight Forward Consultative Forum, stated that the training is more professional than any diploma programme because it dealt specifically with issues touching the technical aspects of their businesses.
Opara assured that members would be able to maintain cargo integrity and know the right thing to do in the field in other not to put the country in jeopardy.
“We urge the facilitators to also take the training to all the states where freight forwarders operate. They should also give it wide publicity in future,” he stated.
